Gutwein

Treasurer Peter Gutwein

Tasmania has had the fastest jobs growth in the country over the past 12 months, with a four per cent increase in the number of people employed.

But more needs to be done to improve full-time employment rates, say government opponents.

The recent ABS data shows that since the election of the Hodgman Liberal Government, 11,500 jobs have been created and the participation rate is the highest since early 2015.

Treasurer Peter Gutwein said there was still more work to do to capitalise on the recent improvement.

“That’s why we have set a target to reduce youth unemployment to the national average and to have the lowest unemployment rate of any state in the country by 2022,” Mr Gutwein said.

Shadow Treasurer Scott Bacon welcomed the “modest rise” in total jobs and the participation rate but highlighted that the unemployment rate has also been revised up.

“Overall, this is a positive update though we would have liked to have seen greater growth in full-time employment,” Mr Bacon said.

“The full-time employment column is the one Labor is focussed on in the lead up to the election.

“When we are out listening to Tasmanians they not only identify jobs as a key issue but they talk about the importance of meaningful, full-time employment.

The jobs data was released just before the results of a combined Australia Institute Tasmania and Unions Tasmania’s jobs survey, which highlighted underemployment and unpaid work as key issues for respondents.

Key findings of the jobs survey:

Over 60 per cent of respondents indicated they want more hours to help make ends meet;

80 per cent of respondents answered that they were required to sometimes work extra hours, with 56 per cent of those saying they weren’t always compensated or remunerated for that time.