Thursday’s labour force release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported a national unemployment rate of 4.4% in June, unchanged from May.
The picture was far worse in Victoria, however, where the unemployment rate jumped by 0.2% to 5.1% in June, the highest in the nation and the state’s highest reading since October 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Chart by Alex Joiner (IFM Investors)
Victoria’s underemployment rate also jumped by 0.3% to 7.3%, the highest in the nation.
As illustrated above by Joiner, the national unemployment rate excluding Victoria was 4.2% in June, 0.9% below Victoria’s reading. The gap has also widened lately.
Meanwhile, as illustrated below by Justin Fabo from Antipodean Macro, Victoria is the only state where the number of new online job ads, as measured by Jobs & Skills Australia, is tracking below its 2019 level (the ACT is the only jurisdiction that is worse).
Victoria’s rising unemployment and deteriorating overall labour market present a major headache for the state Labor government in the lead-up to the November state election.
They support the view that the state Labor government is a poor economic manager and that Victoria is becoming a failed state.
