Jobs surge fuels surprise drop in unemployment
by By Alice Uribe, ninemsn Money with AAP - 11/06/2010
"More than 36,000 full-time jobs were created last month leading to a surprise drop in unemployment, according to official figures. "
“It would be hard to conjure up a better set of figures. More jobs created, the lowest unemployment rate in 16 months and a record number of hours worked by Australian workers,” said Savanth Sebastian, economist at CommSec.
The overall unemployment rate fell from 5.4 to 5.2 percent and 26,900 new jobs were created last month as a 36,400 increase in full-time jobs offset a 9,400 fall in part-time roles, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported.
Mr Sebastian added that Australian workers had recovered the work hours they lost during the GFC, when many companies chose to shift full-time roles to part-time.
“Hours worked by Australian employees have risen to record highs, surging by 2.9 per cent in May. And in annual terms the growth rate is holding the best levels since before the global financial crisis,” he said.
“Not only are employees holding onto and finding new jobs, but existing workers have got back the bulk of the hours they lost in the GFC.”
The government welcomed the figures, saying Australia is faring much better than its international peers.
"These are great figures for Australia," Treasurer Wayne Swan told Fairfax Radio in Perth, adding he had told a recent G20 meeting in South Korea that Australia's unemployment rate was further evidence of a strong economy and the success last year of avoiding the global recession.
"As we go forward and continue to grow we do need to continue to reform our economy so we can create jobs and grow sustainably by infrastructure investment," he said.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the latest data means that Australia is outperforming every other advanced economy in the world.
"We now have about half the unemployment level of the United States, half the unemployment rate of many countries in Europe," he told ABC Radio in Perth.
If Australia had a jobless rate similar to those countries, an additional half a million people would be out of work.
More Details: http://money.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=1067579
