❓ The Treasurer outlines positive jobs figures and economic confidence in WA compared to other states, attributing it to the government's COVID-19 response and recovery plan. Mentions specific sectors experiencing growth and acknowledges ongoing efforts to reduce unemployment.
AnsweredQoN 697Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
CORONAVIRUS —
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
697. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Treasurer:
I refer to Western Australia's
nation-leading response to COVID-19 that has allowed for the most open economy
in the country and delivered the strongest jobs growth in any state.
(1) Will the
Treasurer outline to the house whether there are any more encouraging signs in
today's Australian Bureau of Statistics jobs figures that Western Australians
should feel positive about?
(2) Will the
Treasurer outline to the house how the confidence in the Western Australian
economy compares with that in other states?
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
697. Ms C.M. ROWE to the Treasurer:
I refer to Western Australia's
nation-leading response to COVID-19 that has allowed for the most open economy
in the country and delivered the strongest jobs growth in any state.
(1) Will the
Treasurer outline to the house whether there are any more encouraging signs in
today's Australian Bureau of Statistics jobs figures that Western Australians
should feel positive about?
(2) Will the
Treasurer outline to the house how the confidence in the Western Australian
economy compares with that in other states?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for Belmont for
that very good question.
(1)–(2) What
we are seeing now—the Premier talked about this in his answer a minute
ago—is that the efforts the state government has gone to in Western Australia
to ensure that the health response is strong and firm is delivering economic
outcomes that we want to see for Western Australians. The government announced
not that long ago its $5.5 billion recovery plan. That is now starting to
gather momentum, but behind our hard border we are living a life as close to
normal as anyone else on the planet because we have had no community spread of
the coronavirus for nearly 160 days. The August figures show that not only did
we create over 32 000 jobs—the largest increase in jobs on record—but
also we are seeing the largest drop in the unemployment rate on record, from
8.3 per cent to seven per cent, at a time when the participation rate is still
surging. Western Australians are coming back into the labour force because they
have the confidence and they see their opportunities there for employment. It
is important that we as a community keep
people connected to jobs. That is why we are pleased to see so many Western Australians coming back into the workforce.
Hours worked is another measure that
we have kept a close eye on. Again, it is another strong increase—a 3.8
per cent increase in hours worked. That means that from the moment we saw the
large decline and we imposed the restrictions on the economy to fight the virus,
90 per cent of those hours lost are back—90 per cent. That is an
extraordinary outcome on the back of a surging participation rate. Indeed, if
we had the average participation rate of all the states, as I have shown
before, our unemployment rate would be at six per cent, not seven per cent.
There are all sorts of datasets. Job
advertisements, a leading indicator of employment, are now above the levels recorded in mid-March, and trending higher.
ABS payroll jobs data suggests that more improvement is coming.
Importantly, youth unemployment is on its way down—down to 13.6 per
cent in August, which is still too high, but we have to remember that it was 18
per cent under the former Liberal–National government, so it has come
down a long way.
The ANZ data that the Premier talked
about yesterday highlighted the fact that consumer spending in WA is the
highest in the nation. Indeed, some data we received today or maybe late
yesterday from Bankwest merchant tracking is showing that several sectors have
now exceeded pre-COVID-19 turnover after experiencing
very large increases—campgrounds are up 31 per cent; pubs, taverns and
inns are up 31 per cent ; and hotels, motels and resorts are up 29 per
cent. We see the spend coming through as the commonwealth and state policies
around economic stimulus work.
If we want to be anywhere, it is Western
Australia. The figures show that the hard border, the discipline of Western Australians
and the efforts around the work that we have done as a government to support
our economy are working, but the job is not done. Seven per cent is still too
high. We will continue to focus our efforts on getting Western Australians back
into work.
If I can think of one thing that will
bring our confidence at the household and business level back to stratospheric
levels, it would be the Perth Demons knocking off West Perth this Sunday. After
23 years, it has been a long time between drinks for the Redlegs and if they
can pull that off, I know that every single Western Australian would be delighted!
The SPEAKER : I just rule the
last bit out of order!
that very good question.
(1)–(2) What
we are seeing now—the Premier talked about this in his answer a minute
ago—is that the efforts the state government has gone to in Western Australia
to ensure that the health response is strong and firm is delivering economic
outcomes that we want to see for Western Australians. The government announced
not that long ago its $5.5 billion recovery plan. That is now starting to
gather momentum, but behind our hard border we are living a life as close to
normal as anyone else on the planet because we have had no community spread of
the coronavirus for nearly 160 days. The August figures show that not only did
we create over 32 000 jobs—the largest increase in jobs on record—but
also we are seeing the largest drop in the unemployment rate on record, from
8.3 per cent to seven per cent, at a time when the participation rate is still
surging. Western Australians are coming back into the labour force because they
have the confidence and they see their opportunities there for employment. It
is important that we as a community keep
people connected to jobs. That is why we are pleased to see so many Western Australians coming back into the workforce.
Hours worked is another measure that
we have kept a close eye on. Again, it is another strong increase—a 3.8
per cent increase in hours worked. That means that from the moment we saw the
large decline and we imposed the restrictions on the economy to fight the virus,
90 per cent of those hours lost are back—90 per cent. That is an
extraordinary outcome on the back of a surging participation rate. Indeed, if
we had the average participation rate of all the states, as I have shown
before, our unemployment rate would be at six per cent, not seven per cent.
There are all sorts of datasets. Job
advertisements, a leading indicator of employment, are now above the levels recorded in mid-March, and trending higher.
ABS payroll jobs data suggests that more improvement is coming.
Importantly, youth unemployment is on its way down—down to 13.6 per
cent in August, which is still too high, but we have to remember that it was 18
per cent under the former Liberal–National government, so it has come
down a long way.
The ANZ data that the Premier talked
about yesterday highlighted the fact that consumer spending in WA is the
highest in the nation. Indeed, some data we received today or maybe late
yesterday from Bankwest merchant tracking is showing that several sectors have
now exceeded pre-COVID-19 turnover after experiencing
very large increases—campgrounds are up 31 per cent; pubs, taverns and
inns are up 31 per cent ; and hotels, motels and resorts are up 29 per
cent. We see the spend coming through as the commonwealth and state policies
around economic stimulus work.
If we want to be anywhere, it is Western
Australia. The figures show that the hard border, the discipline of Western Australians
and the efforts around the work that we have done as a government to support
our economy are working, but the job is not done. Seven per cent is still too
high. We will continue to focus our efforts on getting Western Australians back
into work.
If I can think of one thing that will
bring our confidence at the household and business level back to stratospheric
levels, it would be the Perth Demons knocking off West Perth this Sunday. After
23 years, it has been a long time between drinks for the Redlegs and if they
can pull that off, I know that every single Western Australian would be delighted!
The SPEAKER : I just rule the
last bit out of order!
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