Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

The growth in jobs and employment is encouraging. There is, as I've stressed, a way to go, but over the last five months almost 650,000 jobs have been created, including 334,000 jobs of Australian women and 226,000 jobs of young Australians. The effective unemployment rate has come down from the peak of 14.9 per cent to 7.4 per cent, whilst the workforce participation rate is at 65.8 per cent and approaching its precrisis level.

Australia's strength as we entered this pandemic was indeed the fact that we had record levels of employment alongside record levels of workforce participation. We had managed to create resilience in the Australian economy and, pleasingly, we have seen that resilience see us through these tough times. By global comparisons, Australians can hold their heads high at the way in which we have managed together to keep Australians safe and secure this year.