South Australia experienced an increase of 3,500 people employed in the month of March in seasonally adjusted terms, of which 70 per cent were full time, according to the latest ABS Labour Force statistics.
These statistics reflect the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis in Australia, with the survey undertaken in the first two weeks of March – so the full impacts of COVID-19 on the country’s workforce and SA’s jobs market are not yet fully reflected in these numbers.
The trend unemployment rate remained steady at 6 per cent, while the seasonally adjusted rate went from 5.8 per cent to 6.2 per cent, which is a reflection of a sharp rise in the seasonally adjusted participation rate by 0.5 of a percentage point, or roughly 7,700 extra people in the labour force in SA.
Minister for Innovation and Skills David Pisoni said despite the figures being taken from the survey in early March, “there’s no doubt that the Morrison Government’s $1,500 per fortnight JobKeeper payment and the Marshall Government’s $1 billion economic stimulus package, including the $650 million Jobs Rescue Package will help minimise the impacts on our state’s workforce and our nation’s workforce.
“We are in the midst of the greatest economic challenge of our time, which is why the Marshall Liberal Government is responding swiftly and decisively to ensure as many businesses and jobs as possible make it through to the other side.
“This response includes support for thousands of South Australian small businesses and not for profits who can apply for a one-off $10,000 emergency cash grant from the State Government to assist them through the impacts of the coronavirus.
“Small business is the backbone of the South Australian economy and is a huge employer, and that’s why we will do everything in our power to support as many businesses as possible to get through to the other side, and in turn, preserve as many jobs as possible.
“We’ve already seen huge interest in the cash grants with more than 11,300 employers registering their interest for the emergency support payment.
“This is part of the Marshall Government’s strong plan to deal with the pandemic, as we look to get these emergency cash payments out the door as quickly as possible.”
The State Government’s comprehensive economic response and stimulus measures to assist with the preservation and creation of jobs, include:
- Immediate economic stimulus package worth $350 million to drive the economy through job-creating infrastructure projects
- $300 million Business and Jobs Support Fund and $250 million Community and Jobs Support Fund
- Payroll tax relief – up to $60 million of savings to businesses
- Land tax relief – up to $13 million of additional savings
- Skills for Business Package – including up to $5,000 boost when hiring an apprentice
- $16 million VET Market Continuity Package
- Mentoring support for startups and scaleups
“We know that businesses in SA are doing it incredibly tough at the moment, through no fault of their own, but we’re all in this together and we must continue to do everything possible to ensure we get through to the other side.
“In amongst the hardship, there have been some very positive stories of SA businesses creating new jobs and onboarding people who may have transitioned from one industry to another, which should provide us with hope and confidence that South Australia is up to the challenges posed by COVID-19.”
Recent positive job announcement for SA include:
- Up to 2,000 jobs during construction of a new CBD office building, with DPTI as anchor tenant
- 1,000 jobs at IT company Datacom
- 165 jobs from fast tracked major infrastructure projects
- 160 jobs from the second round of Regional Growth Fund projects
- 160 jobs at Detmold Group to produce surgical masks and respirators
- 130 jobs from Research, Commercialisation and Startup Fund projects
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