WA again records lowest national youth unemployment rate

8/6/95

"The huge gap between Western Australia and the rest of the nation in youth unemployment is the most striking feature of the unemployment figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today," Employment and Training Minister Norman Moore said.

"WA has once again recorded the lowest national youth unemployment rate, meaning our young people have the best chance of getting a job and embarking on successful career paths.

"Our youth unemployment rate is down to 17 per cent from 18.1 per cent in April - almost 12 per cent below the national average of 28.6 per cent.

"WA is followed by New South Wales, which recorded the second lowest youth unemployment rate of 26.7 per cent - almost 10 percentage points higher than WA.

"We are the only State with youth unemployment below 20 per cent and our figure is less than half of Australia's highest State youth unemployment rate of 36.9 per cent.

"Over the past 12 months, youth unemployment in WA has steadily trended downward and is now nine per cent lower than at the same time last year.

"Our young people are the future of this State and the Coalition Government's policies are aimed at ensuring they have a wealth of opportunities.

"Our general unemployment figure also remains below the national average.  The May figure for WA is 7.4 per cent - a slight increase of 0.1 of a per cent since April."

Nationally, the unemployment rate is 8.5 per cent, up from 8.3 per cent in April.

The ABS figures show that in the 12 months to May 1995, a total of 49,700 jobs were created, representing an annual growth rate of 6.3 per cent - the highest in Australia.

May is the 31st consecutive month of employment growth for WA.

"The growth in employment is encouraging news for all Western Australians who are reaping the benefits of the Government's commitment to taking the hard decisions," Mr Moore said.

Media contact: Anabel Gomez 321 1444