Page 2128 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 August 2006
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
that, since we came to office nearly five years ago, 17,000 jobs have been created and added to the labour force, or the work force, within the territory. It is truly remarkable that, in the term of this government, 17,000 additional jobs have been added to the ACT work force. So we have had this incredibly significant increase in the number of people in paid employment in the territory, combined with a record low 2.8 per cent unemployment. Interestingly, for the first time—and it is also something of a milestone—49 per cent of the people in paid employment in the ACT are women. It is truly significant in the context of the changing nature and face of the work force that just on half of all people in paid employment in the territory are women.
When Labor came to office unemployment in the ACT was five per cent. In the five years we have been in government it has dropped just over two full percentage points. Employment has grown by more than six per cent under this government. In recent months we have seen thousands of jobs created in Canberra—800 in July alone—and 3,000 jobs added to the work force between March and June of this year. The number of unemployed fell by 300. There are now 186,900 Canberrans in paid employment in the Australian Capital Territory. Our participation rate at 73.5 per cent is the highest it has been for over a decade. With these figures comes not just security, of course; they enhance the very significant choice. Fundamentally, the figures reflect the strength of the ACT economy.
The significance of the figures is reflected in a whole range of indicators that we refer to and that we are all aware of, but which of course the opposition chooses to ignore in the context of the major achievements of this government of the territory. We see it in the number of job advertisements in the Canberra Times and indeed advertised here within the territory. Newspaper job ads in the ACT are up by 11.4 per cent over this last year. On that measure we are exceeding national growth by almost double—in fact, more than double.
Figures like these are a very significant message to Canberra and to the nation that business in Canberra is booming. Certainly the nation is taking note of that. We see it in a whole range of indicators and behaviours. For the first time in over a decade, net migration to the ACT has exceeded net moves of Canberrans out of the territory—a very significant shift, at this stage quite small but growing very significantly and quite rapidly. We have for the first time in the last year increased our population other than through our fertility—other than through the birth of babies—by net migration. I think that is significant. It is reflected in these figures in the context of the extent to which Canberra is now within the notice of Australia that more people, for the first time in 10 years, are coming here.
MS PORTER: I have a supplementary question. Can the Treasurer tell the Assembly what the outlook is for the ACT economy?
MR STANHOPE: The outlook for the territory is incredibly strong, reflected not just in the unemployment rate of 2.8, not just in the highest participation rate in Australia, not just in the highest levels of retail turnover, not just in the highest level of job advertisements in Australia, not just in the highest per capita level of construction activity in Australia and not just in the most rapid increase in residential housing start-ups in Australia.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .