Victoria has experienced the most job losses in Australia, according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The ABS found payroll jobs fell 7.3% in Victoria, followed by a 6.8% decline in Tasmania.
Overall, the ABS revealed a 1.1% drop in the number of jobs in Australia between mid-June and mid-July.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed a 1.1% drop in the number of payroll jobs in Australia between mid-June and mid-July.
“Nationally, payroll jobs are 5.6 per cent below mid-March, when Australia recorded its 100th confirmed COVID-19 case,” Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS said in a statement.
Victoria experienced the most payroll job losses, with a 7.3% decline between 14 March and 11 July. The bureau found that jobs in the state reduced 2.2% between mid-June and mid-July as it reinstated coronavirus restrictions.
The spike in coronavirus cases in Victoria prompted the state government to not only bring back lockdowns in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, but make face coverings mandatory in those regions as well.
Following Victoria’s number of job losses was Tasmania, with a 6.8% decline, the Australian Capital Territory (6.4%), South Australia (5.5%), New South Wales (5.3%), Queensland (5%) and the Northern Territory (3.7%).
Western Australia was the least impacted, experiencing a 3.1% drop in jobs.
The accommodation and food services were the industries most affected by the job losses in Australia. However, in Northern Territory, the mining industry was the most affected sector while in New South Wales, it was the arts and recreation industry.
“Arts and recreation services showed more recovery than any other industry from mid-June to mid-July (7.5%), however it continues to be one of the most impacted industries during the COVID-19 period (16.3% decrease since mid-March),” Jarvis said.
On a slightly more positive note, the ABS found that around 35% of jobs that had been lost were regained by mid-July.
The ABS’s latest figures come after the federal government forecast the unemployment rate in Australia to peak at 9.25% by Christmas, before moving towards 8% as we head into the new year.
