Figures show youth unemployment remains lowest of any State

19/8/96

Responsive State Government employment initiatives are contributing to the stability of Western Australia's job market.

According to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, WA's youth unemployment remained the lowest of any State at 20.4 per cent.

Employment and Training Minister Norman Moore said the labour force participation rate in WA also remained the highest of any State and more than two-and-a-half percentage points above the national average.

"Programs such as Job Link, funded and co-ordinated by the WA Department of Training, are providing consistent and ongoing support to job seekers and employers in WA," Mr Moore said.

Over the last 12 months, 37 Job Link project teams have placed nearly 6,000 people in sustainable employment and approximately 2,000 into education and training.

Mr Moore said Job Link had been extremely successful in matching job-seekers to employment opportunities in small business and industry.

"By efficiently linking job-seekers with employers in the community, Job Link is helping small business and industry operate more effectively," he said.

"Job Link also improves the employment options of job-seekers by providing encouragement and information on self-employment and local enterprise development strategies.

"The program is managed by interested local community members in direct response to needs in that community."

One very happy match made by Fremantle Migrant Resource Centre's Job Link program is between small businessman Sean Murdoch and his able craftsman Marco Oroz.

Director of Summerbank Design, an alternative furniture design company in Canning Vale, Mr Murdoch was looking for an energetic frame-maker to join his small team and tapped into the Job Link network.

"I have been using Job Link for three years now because I find it easy to access and the people are screened well before being sent to me for an interview," Mr Murdoch said.

"They are people who are genuinely looking for work and Job Link makes sure they are a suitable match for the job.

"Marco was a skilled upholsterer in Bosnia Herzegovina before he migrated to Australia and since joining us in April, he has become an invaluable member of the team."

David Langley, managing director of Spearwood Furnishers retail company in Bibra Lake, is another satisfied Job Link client.

Mr Langley has been finding the right people for the job through the Bridging the Gap Job link project in Palmyra for several years.

"They always try to find what we are looking for in an employee," he said.

"We have employed about six Job Link people who have stayed for varying periods of time.

"They gain experience in all areas of our business - retail, store and delivery, and often when they leave here, it is to go on to bigger and better things."

Mr Moore said that the early intervention philosophy of the Job Link program had proved extremely successful over the last six months.

"In the first quarter of this year, 70 per cent of all Job Link placements were for job seekers who were unemployed for less than 12 months," he said.

Media contact: Anabel Gomez 321 1444 or 222 9595