The Queensland economy continues to under-perform based on the latest ABS Labour Force estimates released this morning. The state unemployment rate is stuck at 6.2% (in trend terms) while the national rate fell to 5.1% in October from 5.2% in September (see facet plot below). Queensland has the highest unemployment rate among states and territories. Jobs growth is non-existent and both the trend and seasonally adjusted employment measures declined marginally in October. As I’ve said many times before, our state government urgently needs to review all the regulatory and policy settings that could be holding back Queensland businesses from reaching their full potential.
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There is no doubt that the sluggish growth in job numbers, particularly amongst males, in Queensland is of concern and deserves some in depth analysis. However, it is not really fair to, ompare the Queensland unemployment rate with those in SA or Tassie where their participation rates are several percentage points lower than in Qld.