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

It is a fact that Australia’s unemployment rate remains much lower than any of the major advanced economies excluding Japan. It is interesting to note that in the US the October figure was 9.6 per cent, almost double Australia’s; in the UK the unemployment rate was 7.7 per cent in July; the latest figure I saw for Canada was 7.9 per cent; and in the euro area the unemployment rate was 10.1 per cent in September. It is a fact that we are doing much better than many of our like economies. The fact that we emerged from the global financial crisis in such a very strong position is a testament to strong economic management. The OECD report released recently strongly endorsed the government’s economic management and the strategy to further strengthen our economy. We have been able to achieve what no other major economy could during the crisis: increase job numbers during the worst global recession in 75 years. (Time expired)