Victoria has suffered its worst ever post-Christmas job losses as more than 100,000 Victorians lost their jobs in January 2023.
ABS data released today has shown a concerning 0.5 per cent increase in Victoria’s unemployment rate to 4.0 per cent – the equal highest of any mainland state or territory.
In contrast, unemployment in New South Wales remains steady at 3.1 per cent, almost a full percentage point lower than Victoria.
January 2023 also saw the largest number of job losses in a single month since October 2021 during the height of COVID restrictions.
Youth unemployment spiked to 10.7 per cent in January 2023, up 3.6 per cent, with 21,000 youth jobs lost during the month.
Shadow Treasurer, Brad Rowswell, said these job losses are deeply concerning and will only add to increasing pressures on household budgets
“Victorians are already feeling the pain of increasing grocery, energy and everyday bills and these jobs losses will only make matters worse,” Mr Rowswell said.
Also read: More debt, higher taxes under Labor, says Brad rowswell
“Whilst New South Wales has maintained its record low unemployment – almost 3,300 Victorians lost their jobs each and every day during January as our state falls even further behind.”
“The Andrews Labor Government must focus on connecting unemployed Victorians with sectors crying out for staff, including hospitality, construction and heath and aged cared.”
“Instead of more waste, higher debt and new taxes under Labor, we need a real plan to ease of cost living pressures for Victorians and that starts with responsible economic management from the State Government.”