Unemployment reprieve hands Newman electoral gift

Tuesday 27 January 2015

The reprieve in Queensland’s stubbornly high unemployment could not have come at a better time for the Newman State Government, which is headed for the polls this Saturday in a bid to gain a second electoral term.

In the ABS labour force release for December, issued earlier this month, Queensland’s headline unemployment rate fell sharply to 6.1% from 6.8% in November, with the more reliable trend measure also falling marginally to 6.6% (see next chart).

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.