Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Hansard source

Long-term unemployment in August 2007 was 66,700. It was slashed by almost two-thirds under the Howard government and it was almost 80 per cent lower than the peak of 330,000 set in May 1993 under the previous Labor government. Very long-term unemployment stood at 33,000 in August 2007 and had fallen sharply from its peak of 171,000 in November 1993. Long-term unemployment fell by 3.7 per cent from March 2006 to November 2007. There was a 21 per cent increase in real wages under the coalition, compared to a 1.8 per cent increase under Labor. That is a pretty impressive record.

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