Almost 70,000 jobs created under Labor’s economic plan

Unemployment figures for May show a net 69,300 jobs have been created under the Palaszczuk Government’s economic plan since the state election — or 2,470 jobs on average each month.

Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment, Curtis Pitt, said the state’s trend unemployment rate remained steady at 6.3 per cent — still lower than the 6.6 per cent Tim Nicholls left behind as Campbell Newman’s Treasurer. 

He said the positive results from the government’s economic plan contrasted with the failure of the LNP leader Tim Nicholls to outline a similar comprehensive plan to deliver jobs. 

“All we heard today from Tim Nicholls was more negativity and more LNP ‘pledges’ that they have made in the past but never kept,” Mr Pitt said. 

“Queenslanders know the value of LNP ‘pledges’ — they can’t be believed. They pledged in government to cut power bills but they rose by 43 per cent. 

“They pledged that government workers had nothing to fear from the LNP and then Tim Nicholls cut 14,000 public sector jobs in his first Budget. 

“Queenslanders will be sceptical about his pledges today on asset sales and public sector employees. They know a leopard doesn’t change its spots. 

“In the LNP’s Strong Choices campaign Tim Nicholls said the only alternative to asset sales was job cuts or higher taxes, fees, and charges. 

“The emptiness of his latest pledges is underlined by the fact Tim Nicholls was silent on how he plans to hike taxes, fees, and charges to fill the budget black hole he had hoped to plug with asset sales.” 

Mr Pitt said ABS unemployment figures today showed: 

• Queensland’s trend unemployment rate for May remained steady at 6.3 per cent where it has been since January on revised ABS figures 
• on the more volatile seasonally adjusted measure the rate was 6.1 per cent — down from 6.3 per cent in April 
• in trend terms employment rose by 5,900 — up 0.2 per cent — in May. On a trend basis this is the seventh consecutive month of jobs growth 
• trend full-time employment was up by 3,600 or 0.2 per cent and trend part-time employment up by 2,300 or 0.3 per cent 
• in annual terms there were 31,100 more jobs in May 2017 than a year earlier. 

Mr Pitt said thelatest figures confirmed the government was on the right path with the range of programs in the 2017-18 State Budget to create jobs right across the state. 

“We promised to focus on job-creation and that’s exactly what we have done in the previous two State Budgets I’ve delivered and it’s what this week’s Budget is all about — jobs for Queensland,” he said. 

“By contrast we still haven’t seen or heard any sign of a comprehensive economic plan from the LNP. Just more negativity,” Mr Pitt said.