James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business, Senator Cash. Can the minister update the Senate on the latest employment figures for January and how the Morrison government is delivering on the commitments it made at the last election, including to provide real outcomes to support Australians into work?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator McGrath for his question. Senator McGrath and I had the opportunity last Thursday to attend a jobs fair in Caboolture when the labour force figures actually came out. It has been acknowledged that it was a difficult January. Despite this and against market expectations, we saw in January 2020 the creation of over 46,000 full-time jobs. That was against market expectations. We saw a net increase of 13½ thousand jobs. This means that over the year to January 2020 we have seen employment increase by almost a quarter of a million jobs.

We now have a record number of Australians in employment. Just under 13 million Australians are now in work. That is a record high. We also have a record number of Australians in full-time work. Additionally, we continue to see a record number of women in employment. We have record female participation, and I am pleased to say that two-thirds of all new jobs for women are full-time jobs. Again in January we saw an increase in the participation rate. What does that mean? It means that Australians are putting up their hands and they are saying that they have confidence in the jobs market and they are ready, willing and able to work.

Since we were elected to office in 2013, the policies that the coalition government have put in place have now supported the economy in creating over 1.5 million jobs. We will continue to put in place policies that enable job creation in Australia.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McGrath, a supplementary question?

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What opportunities is the government providing to ensure that Australians who want to work can get to work?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I was saying, Senator McGrath and I had the opportunity to join the member for Longman, Terry Young, last week and have a jobs fair in Caboolture. The government takes jobs fairs around Australia, and almost 29,000 jobseekers have attended to date. Last Thursday, over 2,000 people came through the door. They were people who were actively searching for work locally in Caboolture, but there were also people who were coming there to talk to job service providers about the services that are available to them—for example, how to update your resume or how to sit down and undertake an interview. We had over 700 specific jobs on offer, with over 40 exhibitors talking to potential employees. This is all about ensuring that people who are actively looking for work are connected with the pathways to employers locally who are looking for employees.

Scott Ryan (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator McGrath, a final supplementary question?

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister inform the Senate of the policy priorities of the government to continue to support jobs growth in Australia?

Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that governments themselves don't create jobs; that's something that employers do. What governments do is put in place policies that enable, in this case, businesses to prosper, to grow and to create more jobs for Australians. And, as I've said, since we were elected to office in 2013, we've put in place policies that have now enabled the economy and hardworking employers out there to create in excess of 1.5 million jobs. How are we doing this? In the first instance, we are lowering taxes, whether it be lowering taxes for small businesses so they can reinvest back into their business, grow their business and create more jobs for Australians, or, alternatively, lowering taxes for working Australians, because we believe that Australians should be able to keep more of what they earn. We're also reducing the costs of doing business through deregulation, we're enabling better access to finance, we're ensuring that small businesses are paid on time, and we're building the infrastructure our economy needs to grow.