Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business. Will the minister update the House on the labour force figures released today? How has the Morrison-McCormack government's skilling and jobs agenda helped Australians by supporting job creation to secure our economic recovery?

Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for her question and for all the hard work she does championing over 10,000 small and medium businesses in her electorate of Bass. I know that she and all those on our side of the House join the Treasurer in welcoming today's figures of unemployment at 5.1 per cent. In the last month, 115,000 Australians got a new job. That is extraordinary. There were 13,125,000 people employed, with 130,000 more people employed now than pre-COVID, a full one per cent. We are the only advanced nation in the world that can claim that. Importantly, we have seen underemployment, which is those people looking for more hours, decrease by 0.4 per cent to the lowest rate in 7½ years. All this is pleasing, as is the 69,400 women getting employed in the month in question. It is the highest number of women employed in our nation's history. All of this is great. It is good news, but there's more to do. I think we all recognise that.

The important thing is that we've still got the highest number of job adverts in 12 years, which means there is enormous opportunity for Australians right now to continue to get skilled and continue to get in work. It shows that the Morrison government's economic plan is working, that the budget that focused on skills and on jobs and on backing in hardworking Australians is making a difference. It's why I was thrilled to hear from the member for Bass about Bronte Clinton, who runs Elysian Beauty & Wellness in the Launceston CBD. It's been tough for Bronte—it's been tough for many businesses during the pandemic—but she has just taken on two new employees, including one new apprentice, leaning on and working with the Morrison government's boosting apprenticeship commencement wage subsidy.

And it's not just Bronte. 58,000 Australian businesses have taken on new apprentices—143,000 apprentices—which means there are a whole bunch of small businesses taking on one and two apprentices, be it Bronte and what she's doing there with hairdressing or be it in traditional trades and other areas. We've doubled down on that with $2.7 billion to extend the Boosting Apprenticeship Commencements to see another 170,000 apprentices extending through to March next year.

Now, we know there's still some more to do. There are still 700,000 Australians who remain out of work. There are still 1.1 million Australians on a primary payment. So we are committed to ensuring those Australians have every opportunity to be skilled from the budget we have brought down and every opportunity to get one of those jobs, considering we have the highest jobs availability in 12 years. I'd encourage every Australian business: take a crack and employ an Australian. There's never been a better time to employ Australians. (Time expired)