The Cook Labor Government has met its electoral promise of creating 125,000 new jobs well ahead of schedule, as reflected in today’s Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures, with 133,532 jobs created since the target was established in 2021.
Originally earmarked to be achieved by 2025-26, the number of people employed in Western Australia hit 1.542 million in April, the highest level ever, with the labour force numbers showing that the number of persons employed in April had been revised up by 12,000 people.
ABS reported that the unemployment rate has averaged 3.5 per cent during the previous 12 months, which is quite low by historical standards and the second lowest of all States.
Moreover, employment has expanded steadily over the past 12 months, up 2.7 per cent, the government revealed in a media statement.
Premier Roger Cook expressed his delight to have met this critical election commitment before the 2025-26 deadline.
“In 2021 we took to the election an ambitious but achievable, affordable and responsible WA Jobs Plan to position Western Australia as the best State in the nation with a strong economy and a growing pipeline of jobs for Western Australians,” he remarked.
Cook added that the most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics statistics on jobs and economic figures confirms that the state’s strategy is working and that Western Australia remains the engine of the Australian economy.
“While these positive results mean we’ve made significant inroads, there is more to do and that is why we will continue to implement the WA Jobs Plan to diversify the economy and deliver on more manufacturing jobs, training opportunities and ensure Western Australians are put first when it comes to local jobs,” the premier explained.
Meanwhile, Treasurer Rita Saffioti said the latest round of national economic and financial statistics reaffirms that Western Australia has the strongest economy in the country.
“Western Australia’s economic resilience is a testament to the hard work of WA businesses and workers, and the Government will continue to prioritise keeping Western Australia’s economy strong and local jobs for Western Australians,” Saffioti stated.
The government said WA’s participation rate remains the highest of any state, at 69.2 per cent over the past year, a reflection of the state’s strong economy and plentiful job possibilities.
The accomplishment of the jobs target follows the release of recent national economic data, which show that Western Australia continued to enjoy the greatest internal economic growth of any jurisdiction in the March quarter, expanding by 2.8 per cent year on year, despite global inflationary and interest rate pressures.
According to updated ABS demographic data released today, WA’s population will expand by 0.6 per cent (or 17,914 individuals) in the December quarter 2022, the most of any jurisdiction.
