Jobs remains the number one priority for the Hodgman Liberal Government, and I welcome today’s confirmation by the ABS that full-time jobs over the past year have grown by 1000, and the unemployment rate has remained steady at 5.8 per cent significantly lower than the 7.5 per cent when we came to office.
While part-time work has been variable, Tasmania has once again led the nation with the strongest annual growth in the Internet Vacancy Index in the country, at 28.3 per cent which is twenty times higher than the national growth rate over the previous year.
Some areas of the State are experiencing very strong demand for workers, with annual growth in internet vacancy rates in Launceston and the Northeast leading the nation at 48.8 per cent, and strong growth of 15 per cent in the North-West which will translate into more jobs for Tasmanians.
Furthermore some of the strongest growth in job vacancies occurred in construction-related occupations – supported by the Hodgman Government’s $2.6 billion Infrastructure Plan and Tasmania’s strong housing sector.
The high growth in vacancies confirms what we already know, that Tasmanian businesses are hiring, and job opportunities are helping to boost our population and economy.
There is always more to be done and job creation is the top priority of this Government. Our record stands in stark contrast to the former Labor–Green Government, of which Scott Bacon was the former Finance Minister when 10,000 jobs were lost.