The latest Labour Force data shows the reality behind Labor’s headline jobs claims: Australians are working harder than ever, yet more Australians are unemployed and youth unemployment remains stubbornly high.
While the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.4%, the picture is worse in Victoria, where unemployment grew to 5.1% - the highest in the nation.
Over 130,000 more Australians are out of work since Labor came to office.
Youth unemployment remains more than double the national rate at 10.7%, with 73,000 more young Australians unemployed than when the Coalition office.
Australians aged 55-64 recorded the largest annual growth in the participation rate, suggesting many are delaying retirement as cost of living pressures continue to bite.
The data also confirms Australians are working harder under Labor, with 2,014 million hours worked in June, up 1.8% over the past year.
Labor continues to boast about job creation, but employment growth has simply kept pace up with population growth. The population to employment ratio has been consistently around 64% under Labor.
Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations Senator Jane Hume said Australians are working harder than ever but are being left behind in Labor’s economy.
“These figures show that, at a time when Australia is heading for its weakest decade of living standards growth in more than a century, Labor’s economy is failing Australians.
“Young Australians are bearing the brunt of Labor’s economy, while more older Australians are staying in the workforce - not because they want to but because they cannot afford to retire.
“Victoria now has the highest unemployment rate in Australia. That’s a warning sign that both the Allan and Albanese Governments are failing to create the economic conditions businesses need to invest, grow and create jobs.
“Australians need a government with a plan to fix the economy and the Coalition is the only party with a credible plan to restore living standards and protect our way of life.”