Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Hutchins for the question. The strength of the Australian economy was again on display last week with the release of the labour force figures showing the creation of 29,700 jobs as Australia’s workforce grew to a record high of more than 11.3 million workers—more workers in the workforce than ever before. This follows the creation of 49,500 jobs in September. It is a testament to the strong economic management that the government is providing and it is the case that, since we were elected in November 2007, the economy has created 650,000 jobs. Over the year to October, seasonally adjusted employment has increased by about 375,000 jobs or 3.4 per cent and almost three-quarters of those jobs have been full-time jobs.

The labour force figures also show that the participation rate has climbed to an all-time high of 65.9 per cent, up 0.3 percentage points, suggesting that strong economic conditions may be encouraging more people to enter the labour force. The female participation rates were also at record highs. It is that strong increase in the participation rate that underpins the headline 0.2 percentage point increase in the unemployment rate, which rose to 5.4 per cent in October. While that rate increased in October, this reflects the fact that we have record numbers of Australians joining the workforce with the participation rate reaching its highest level on record. We welcome the fact that more Australians are in work and also that more are actively looking for work. We remain confident that Australia’s unemployment rate will continue to decline in line with the MYEFO forecasts. We are confident that there will be great opportunities for those seeking work in the coming years.