CANBERRA:The total number of people with jobs rose 37,400 to 11.679 million in December – defying economist expectations of a relatively flat performance. Full-time employment rose by 41,600 to 8.105 million in December and part-time employment was down 4100 to 3.574 million.
A surprise fall in unemployment will offer some comfort to the federal government as it starts the year facing crumbling commodity prices and shaky consumer confidence.New figures show unemployment fell to 6.1 per cent in December, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, down from 6.3 per cent the previous month after 37,000 jobs were added across the country.
With the federal government watching its revenue forecasts ravaged by plummeting world commodity prices – on top of other distractions like another costly backdown on its contentious Medicare reforms – the unexpected drop in the jobless rate was welcome news.
Federal employment minister Eric Abetz said the rise was further evidence that the jobs market was strengthening towards the end of 2014.Employment is growing, unemployment is coming down and more people are actively looking for work,” Senator Abetz said.Senator Abetz said jobs growth in 2014 averaged 17,800 a month – well above the 5000 a month of 2013.Queensland experienced the biggest fall in its unemployment rate – down to 6.1 per cent from 6.8 per cent – courtesy of a gain of 22,500 jobs in December.
Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls claimed credit for the rise, saying “these jobs just don’t happen by accident – they happen because of a government that is doing the right thing”.
The December rise did come after a year of stagnant employment growth, however, and Mr Nicholls accepted that the trend rate of 6.6 per cent was still too high.
