Unemployment in NSW has fallen to a historic low of 3.3 per cent for three of the past four months, but the jobless rate is double that figure in parts of south-western Sydney and the state’s north coast.
The number of jobs in the state hit an all-time high 4.285 million in September after employment rose by 7000 in the month. NSW now has the lowest unemployment rate among the states, with Western Australia on 3.4 per cent and Victoria 3.5 per cent.
Separate, detailed employment figures published by the Bureau of Statistics show unemployment was around 2 per cent or lower in five of Sydney’s 15 labour market statistical regions in August.
The jobless rate was especially low in Sutherland (0.8 per cent), Central Sydney and Inner South (1.6 per cent) and the Northern Beaches (1.7 per cent).
But unemployment has been much higher in parts of south-western Sydney. The jobless rate in Sydney’s inner south-west, which includes Bankstown, Yagoona and Belmore, was 6.8 per cent in August. In the district called Sydney – South West, which takes in Fairfield, Liverpool and Bringelly, the August unemployment rate was 3.3 per cent, but the average annual rate for the 12 months to September was 6.9 per cent.
AMP chief economist Dr Shane Oliver said the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic, especially pronounced in parts of south-western Sydney, were still having an impact on employment.
“Some of the regional variations reflect how different areas were affected by the lockdowns,” he said.
Unemployment rates also vary outside of Sydney. The lowest jobless rate in regional NSW was in the Southern Highlands at just 1.7 per cent in August. Next lowest was the Central West region, Illawarra and the Mid North Coast (all 2.2 per cent).
However, in the Coffs Harbour-Grafton region, the unemployment rate was 6.6 per cent. Oliver said strong population growth in that area, and therefore a greater supply of labour, could be a factor contributing to the higher rate of joblessness.
For all the latest Business News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsBit.us is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
