Figures show WA maintaining lowest unemployment rate of any State

10/10/96

There has been another fall in the State's unemployment rate maintaining Western Australia's record as having the lowest unemployment rate of any State.

WA's rate dropped to 7.5 per cent in September from 7.7 per cent the previous month. Nationally the rate also recorded a decrease from 8.8 to 8.7 per cent.

Employment and Training Minister Norman Moore said over the past year 16,900 extra jobs had been created in WA.

"This is 19.5 per cent or almost one in five of all the extra jobs created in Australia since September last year," Mr Moore said.

"Over the past 12 months, employment has been growing in WA at twice the national rate.

"Australian Bureau of Statistics figures also show that WA's economy grew by 9.2 per cent in 1995-96, outpacing growth in all other States and the national growth rate of 4.5 per cent."

Mr Moore said WA's youth unemployment also dropped in September to 20.4 per cent - more than six percentage points below the national rate of 26.7 per cent.

"For over a year WA has recorded the lowest youth unemployment rate of any State," he said.

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