A staggering 9,000 full-time Tasmanian jobs have been lost since Premier Jeremy Rockliff started governing in minority, according to new ABS data released today.

Tasmania continues to have the weakest participation rate in the nation, 6.8 percentage points below the national average. Underemployment also remains the worst the country, with 22,500 Tasmanians saying they need more hours at work. Our weak participation and high underemployment highlight the serious structural issues facing Tasmania’s economy.

Despite Saul Eslake, Deloitte Access Economics, the TCCI and CommSec all coming to the same conclusion about Tasmania’s participation problem and structural economic handbrakes, the Liberal minority government have failed to even acknowledge the issue, let alone address it.

According to the TCCI, if Tasmania’s participation rate was at the national average, over 11,000 jobs would be created, households would be $1,500 better off and the State’s economy would be boosted by over $3.7 billion annually.

If the Liberals had done more to address these issues in the past 11 years, maybe the Premier wouldn’t be trying to sell off Tasmania’s state owned assets to prop up his busted budget today.

Josh Willie MP
Shadow Treasurer