Canberra Unemployment Rate Stays Low While it Rises Elsewhere in Australia
Saturday March 14, 2009
Canberra has been able to lower its unemployment rate to a record 2.4 per cent in a climate of economic instability where the national average has climbed to 0.4 to 5.2 per cent and 47,100 applied for the dole in February.
Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout said Australia would be"lucky" if it could keep the unemployment rate below seven per cent in 2009.
"Today's figures were worse than we were expecting," she said on Thursday.
Full-time employment dropped 53,800, however part-time employment increased 55,600 showing that people are working shorter hours and employment has in fact increased 1,800.
The employment rate rose because the job growth is unavailable to keep up with the growing population and the participation rate rose from 65.3 to 65.5 per cent.
JP Morgan economist Stephen Walters said, "We suspect that labour force participation will be slow to decline, which will inflate the unemployment rate."
"This is mainly because of elevated skilled migration flows and older workers staying in the workforce longer than they had planned ..."
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