Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. What are today's jobs figures, and what do they mean for the Albanese Labor government's economic strategy? What approaches have been rejected?

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

Thanks to the member for Macquarie for her great work and her great question. The jobs numbers today were absolutely remarkable: 116,000 new jobs were created in the month of February, and 790,000 jobs have been created under this Prime Minister and his government. That is another new record from a first-term government. The unemployment rate fell substantially from 4.1 per cent to 3.7 per cent. What an amazing tribute to our workers, our employers and the resilience of our labour market.

Inflation is the lowest in two years. Unemployment is the lowest in six months. Real wages are growing ahead of schedule. And we will get tax cuts flowing from 1 July. This means more people are working, more people are earning more and more people will be keeping more of what they earn as well. This is the trifecta—unemployment falling, inflation moderating, real wages growing again in our economy.

Despite a slowing economy, despite all the pressures that people are under, despite everything which is coming at us from around the world, we have faster jobs growth than any major advanced economy. We have workforce participation higher than any major advanced economy. Average unemployment under this Prime Minister is 3.7 per cent, compared with 5.6 per cent under those opposite. Unemployment is now lower than when we came to office. Quarterly inflation is much lower than when we came to office, and real wages growth is much higher than it was when we came to office. We are managing our economy in a responsible and methodical way, and as a consequence of that we're making welcome and encouraging progress.

Here the contrast couldn't be clearer. Almost two years and we don't know what their economic plan is. We don't know what their alternative policies are on the cost of living. But we do know they want people working longer for less. We do know they voted for higher inflation and lower wages. We do know the deputy leader said they would roll back our tax cuts, and we do know all about the economic insanity of their uncosted nuclear fantasy. We also know from reports today that, when the opposition leader was invited to the Business Council of Australia's annual event to give his vision for the economy, the sum total of that vision was to tell business, to beg business, to bag Labor more. That says it all. They have no ideas, no alternatives and no credibility, and that's why nobody takes them seriously on the economy.

We still expect the labour market to soften. We've been upfront about that. But we've seen more jobs created. We've seen inflation moderating. We've seen real wages growing. That does mean more people are working, more people are earning more and more people will keep more of what they earn. The jobs number we got today, which was remarkable, is an important part of that— (Time expired)