News -Jobless rate drops after Cairns expo

• Jobless rate drops after Cairns expo
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• Cannington Contract Win
• No such thing as an impossible cut

Thursday, December 10, 2009

C The Cairns Post

: As 35 Cairns residents are celebrating their new jobs, new national figures released this morning show a drop in the unemployment rate. The latest statistics come in the wake of yesterday's Cairns jobs expo, hosted by Centrelink, which succeeded in connecting 35 jobseekers with work on the day. A further 365 positions were advertised at the jobs expo and most are expected to be filled once yesterday's applications are processed. Statistics released today show the national jobless rate has fallen unexpectedly to 5.7 per cent in November from 5.8 per cent the previous month. But in Queensland it edged up to 6.1 per cent from 6.0 per cent. The number of people employed jumped by a seasonally-adjusted 31,200 in November. Economists' forecasts had centred on a 5000 increase in employment and unemployment rising to 5.9 per cent. The unemployment rate in Victoria fell to 5.4 per cent in November compared to 5.7 per cent in October, while it declined to 6.0 per cent from 6.1 per cent in New South Wales.

The rate also fell in the Northern Territory to 3.5 per cent from 3.7 per cent. However, in South Australia the rate rose to 5.5 per cent from 5.3 per cent, in Western Australia it increased to 5.2 per cent from 5.0 per cent and in Tasmania (5.4 per cent) and the ACT (3.6 per cent) the jobless rate was unchanged. The jobless rate has been ranging between 5.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent since March this year. The government has forecast a peak in the jobless rate of 6.75 per cent by June next year.