Western Australia’s strong economy continues to see the unemployment rate decline, with new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics today showing the unemployment rate is at its lowest in WA in 13 years.
The ABS Labour Force report for December showed WA’s unemployment rate fell to 3.4 per cent down from 3.8 per cent in November.
This is the lowest unemployment rate of the States, well below the national rate of 4.2 per cent and the lowest in WA since December 2008.
In 2021, an additional 67,314 Western Australians gained employment, the largest calendar year gain on record. This included an additional 55,328 full-time jobs.
Full time employment reached a record 977,197 people by the end of 2021, with a further 6,499 people gaining full-time employment in December.
Full-time employment for women grew by 32,728 in 2021, while the female unemployment rate fell to 3.2 percent.
Since the McGowan Government came to office in March 2017, almost 140,000 jobs have been created.
As stated by Premier Mark McGowan:
“Western Australia’s safe and sensible approach to the management of the pandemic has enabled our economy to be the most successful in the nation, and one of the best performing in the world.
“As our economy continues to grow so do the employment opportunities in our State.
“This means we now have the lowest unemployment rate in WA in 13 years – since December 2008.
“This has largely been driven by the record number of people in full-time employment in WA, with nearly one million Western Australians now working full-time.
“What is clear is that our safe and cautious approach to managing COVID-19 continues to deliver for Western Australians.
“This is why a safe transition of border controls is so important to keep businesses open and Western Australians in work.”
Premier’s office – 6552 5000
