The past two years have been a golden era for jobs in NSW. For much of that time, the unemployment in the state has hovered between 3 and 4 per cent; last June, the rate dropped to a historic low of 2.9 per cent.
Even when inflation surged during 2022, and higher interest rates began to bite in 2023, the NSW economy continued to create jobs. The state consistently had the lowest unemployment rate among the states during 2022 and 2023.
But things changed abruptly in January. Bureau of Statistics figures released on Thursday revealed unemployment in NSW jumped from 3.4 per cent to 4.1 per cent – an unusually large deterioration for a single month.
It’s as if the NSW economy was emulating the cartoon character Wile E. Coyote who routinely finds himself suspended in midair after running off a cliff in pursuit of his nemesis, the Road Runner. The state defied economic gravity for a time but, like Coyote, a fall was inevitable.
Last month, the number of unemployed people in NSW rose by 30,000 to 186,100 – the highest since November 2021, when the state was recovering from the shock of pandemic lockdowns.
As the Herald’s Shane Wright reported on Friday, NSW is at the epicentre of a national jobs market slowdown. More than 33,000 full-time jobs have disappeared in NSW since last June, of which 22,000 had been held by women. The jobless rate among the state’s men, which reached a record low of 2.8 per cent in May, has now climbed to 4.2 per cent.
While the severity of the January slowdown was unexpected, business surveys taken last year pointed to weaker conditions in the jobs market. A study by peak body Business NSW published in December found one in five firms expected to reduce staffing levels in the coming three months.
Meanwhile, the national unemployment rate has risen from 3.6 per cent to 4.1 per cent in just four months.
A golden era for employment is coming to an end
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16.02.2024
The past two years have been a golden era for jobs in NSW. For much of that time, the unemployment in the state has hovered between 3 and 4 per cent; last June, the rate dropped to a historic low of 2.9 per cent.
Even when inflation surged during 2022, and higher interest rates began to bite in 2023, the NSW economy continued to create jobs. The state consistently had the lowest unemployment rate among the states during 2022 and 2023.
But things changed abruptly in........
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