Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Treasurer. Can the Treasurer confirm that in today's new numbers, from the fortnight he cut JobKeeper, jobs were lost in every single state and territory, not just Victoria. Why did the Treasurer cut JobKeeper while unemployment was still rising?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can confirm that, in terms of payroll jobs, which were announced today, more than half the payroll jobs lost between 14 March and 18 April have been regained. And I can confirm that Victoria remains, unfortunately and sadly, the weakest state, with payroll jobs 7.7 per cent lower compared to 14 March. This compares to 3.6 per cent in New South Wales. Tragically, in Victoria, 73,000 jobs have been lost in the last two months. That is nearly 1,200 jobs lost per day.

In comparison, I say to the member for Rankin, 172,000 jobs have been created across the rest of the country—that is, more than 2,800 jobs created a day. The payroll jobs data, which the member for Rankin refers to, continues to show the disproportionate impact on younger workers, with jobs for those aged 29 and under still 6.1 per cent lower than the pre-crisis. That compares to 4.1 per cent across all age groups and around 2.7 per cent for those aged 40 to 59. That's why we continue to support JobKeeper, and that's why we consider to support the JobMaker hiring credit. Our focus is on getting all Australians into work and particularly helping those younger people who have been disproportionately hit in the crisis.