Tasmania’s unemployment rate has reached a historic low for the second month in a row, with recent data indicating a rate of just 3.9% in December.
The latest figure shows a significant decline from a decade ago when the rate was at 7.8% in November 2013.
288,000 people are currently employed across Tasmania, with over half of them being women and more than half holding full-time positions, an increase of 53,000 since 2014.
Both Treasurer Michael Ferguson and Premier Jeremy Rockliff have expressed their delight at the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and praised the state’s economy.
“Our long-term plan to keep our economy strong and create jobs has Tasmania well placed to face the current national economic headwinds, retain our record low unemployment rate and ensure that businesses continue to have the confidence to employ more people,” Rockliff said.
“These results are no accident, they are the result of our careful, considered long-term plan to make Tasmania the best place to live, work and raise a family.”
Ferguson used the record-breaking figure to take aim at the “shambolic Labor opposition”,accusing them of being “obsessed with talking Tasmania into a recession”.
“Just this week, Rebecca White and her shadows are openly calling for major capital upgrades to be scrapped and less investment in infrastructure,” he said.
“Our government is getting on with the job of growing our economy, building confidence and delivering the biggest infrastructure agenda in Tasmania’s history that secures jobs for years to come.”
