LEON BYNER:
Josh Frydenberg, good morning. There’s a bit of good news in regards to national unemployment.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, the economic recovery is continuing, Leon, and we saw yesterday’s job numbers, unemployment fall to 5.6 per cent, which your listeners may be interested to know is lower than when the Labor Party last left office. Even after the recession that we’ve just had, the unemployment rate has come down. And that has meant that more than 70,000 new jobs have been created. That’s more than 2,000 jobs a day over the month of March. Around 80 per cent of those jobs have gone to women and around half of those jobs have gone to young people. And we’re seeing a recovery now in the labour market that is more than four times faster than what Australia experienced after the 1990s recession. So it’s certainly better than even our most optimistic economic forecasts last year.
LEON BYNER:
Josh, can you rationalise for the people of SA why it would be that our state numbers for unemployment are pretty much the worst? Why would that be?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, again, there are different factors in different states. Unemployment in South Australia is at 6.3 per cent. Then you have to recognise that it came down from a peak of around 8.8 per cent in June of last year. So it has been trending in the right direction. And I know that the Marshall Government together with the Morrison Government is doing everything possible to invest in South Australia and to promote job creation. And you’ll certainly see in the Budget more measures that will continue to promote the jobs recovery focusing on skills, the labour force shortages that we’re seeing in some areas across the economy as well as guaranteeing the essential services like aged care.
LEON BYNER:
Well, there is a massive shortage of skilled trades, massive. And that is something that’s been building up over years. Have you had any thoughts on how we would fix this?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, that is being tackled through our apprenticeship program where we’re providing a 50 per cent wage subsidy and that’s had a huge take-up. We have recently announced another $1.2 billion of support for that sector. So we are seeing people take up these apprenticeships, which is really important, not just in the trades but it might be an apprentice hairdresser, it might be an apprentice baker, maybe someone else in the hospitality industry. But it’s certainly right across the economy that we’re seeing greater investment in apprenticeships. But when you speak about the trades we also think about the housing sector, and with the support of HomeBuilder, we’ve seen Leon, a really big increase in economic activity in that housing sector.
LEON BYNER:
Why then is it that this state, and this is probably more of a structural question, why is it that we seem to cop it worse than anywhere else with regards to the unemployment numbers? Is there a structural issue in this state?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I don’t think there is. I mean, there are issues that fluctuate, that see the fluctuations from month to month. But if you think about the South Australian economy, it’s very broad based. You’ve got a very strong tourism sector, you’ve got a very strong agricultural sector, you’ve got a strong resources sector and you’ve got a strong services sector. So I think you’ve got a lot of things that are going for the state of South Australia. And let’s not forget that we’ve just been through a once-in-a century pandemic and we’ve seen the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression and, you know, the country is still feeling the impacts of that crisis. So we’ve got to be realistic about where we sit right now, which is better than any other major advanced economy, but it certainly takes into account the economic impact that we have felt.
LEON BYNER:
Is South Australia firmly in your sights as you put the touches on your Budget?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Absolutely. And, you know, I’m speaking to my South Australian colleagues on a regular basis about what is required in that state. I’ll actually be meeting with Rob Lucas later this morning as part of a Treasurers meeting that I chair on a regular basis. So we’ll continue to talk about those issues that are important to your state, but, indeed, the national economy as well.
LEON BYNER:
By the way, are there any tax changes coming up in terms of less taxes or levies?
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
I know you’d like me to play that rule-in, rule-out game, Leon, but as you would expect the Treasurer on the eve of a budget, we’ll steer clear of those questions no matter how great the temptation.
LEON BYNER:
All right. So, really, because one of the things about our state is cost.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Yes.
LEON BYNER:
And one person I know you would know of, from the Centre of Economic Studies, Darryl Gobbett, makes the point that the one thing we need in SA is to get low cost so that we can attract businesses here, which, of course, will mean jobs.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Well, input costs for businesses are key. And there’s a number of them that are relevant. Energy is one.
LEON BYNER:
Yes.
JOSH FRYDENBERG:
Skills and labour force are another. And obviously red tape and the cost of compliance is another factor in the cost of doing business, in every state. So we are putting in place a series of measures that are designed to improve that cost equation for businesses and that will enable them to go ahead and grow and to innovate and to hire more people. And I’m pleased to say that job vacancies have increased quite significantly at the moment. So the jobs are out there and we are wanting people to take them and we’re enabling businesses to invest with specific incentives, and we’ll see the next phase of that economic transition plan in the Budget.