According to the latest regional payroll jobs data released by the ABS today, in early August employment on the Gold Coast was still 6% below the level it was mid-March, before all the major COVID-related restrictions began (see chart below). Among the Queensland Statistical Area level 4 (SA4) regions, the Gold Coast and Brisbane Inner City are the furthest from the levels of employment they had in mid-March, no doubt due to the over-representation of hospitality and tourism jobs among residents of the two regions.

As I’ve discussed in previous posts, the prospect of a V-shaped recovery has vanished, and many regions have seen employment declines after initial rebounds when restrictions were relaxed in May and June (see plots below).

For more on what’s been happening in the regions, check out my interview with Pete Faulkner last month:

Qld’s regional economies & COVID-19 – video chat with Pete Faulkner

Also check out Pete’s latest post on today’s regional payroll data:

Payrolls data suggests there should be some improvement coming for Cairns