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Australia posted its lowest unemployment rate in 48 years on Thursday, providing Prime Minister Scott Morrison with a potential boost two days before federal elections. The official unemployment rate fell to 3.85 percent in April, the lowest level since 1974, when flared trousers were popular and US President Richard Nixon resigned and over the Watergate scandal. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian economy added 92,400 full-time jobs in the month.
This helped to reduce the annualised unemployment rate in April to 3.93 percent from 3.93 percent the previous month.
Many employers say they are having difficulty finding workers in this tight labour market.
“We’re definitely still experiencing staff shortages,” said Matt Jenkins, human resources manager at Applejack Hospitality, a Sydney restaurant group.
“Chefs, I know, can have numerous job offers at the same time. Even candidates we’re talking to are resting on offers for weeks while they canvas the market “He explained to AFP.
Bruno Goncalves, co-owner of Edes Bar and Restaurant in central Sydney, said it was especially difficult to find experienced staff.
More foreign job seekers were becoming available, he said, since Australia’s international borders were reopened after being closed for nearly two years to keep out the Covid-19 virus.
Those foreign candidates were mostly incompetent, leaving the company with supervisory managers and “fresh, none whatsoever” employees but few experienced bar and waiting staff.
In a tightening election race, opinion polls show the governing conservative coalition trailing the opposition Labor Party.
However, polls show that the rising cost of living, not jobs, is a top priority for voters.
Morrison has questioned Opposition Labor Party president Anthony Albanese’s economic credentials, particularly after he forgot the unemployment rate when questioned by reporters more than a month ago.
Albanese has stated that he supports raising the minimum wage in line with inflation, which has risen to 5.1 percent as prices in stores, gas stations, and the housing market skyrocket.
