The rebound in the Australian jobs market is faltering thanks to the worsening COVID-19 situation in Victoria, according to the latest monthly update on payroll and wages data produced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The report showed that total payroll jobs fell by 1.1% between mid-June and mid-July.
Victoria saw payroll jobs down by 1.4% in the reference week (mid-July) to be 2.2% lower since the middle of June.
The bureau said total payroll jobs were down by 7.3% in the state since the middle of March, the worst of any state or territory.
Jobs were down 6.6% in June, so the fall has been notable.
Payrolls also fell in NSW by 0.7% between July 4 and 11 after a 0.3% fall in the previous survey covering late June.
The worsening in the two biggest employment states suggests that the July jobless report will show a bigger rise than expected when released in three weeks time.
Jobs are down by 5.3% since mid-March (worse than the 5.0% fall in June)
Bjorn Jarvis, head of Labour Statistics at the ABS, said, “Nationally, payroll jobs are 5.6 percent below mid-March when Australia recorded its 100th confirmed COVID-19 case.” (It was down 5.7% in June).
Payroll job losses in other states and territories since mid-March ranged from a 6.8% fall in Tasmania to a 3.1% loss in Western Australia.
“The latest data shows that around 35 percent of lost payroll jobs had been regained by mid-July,” Mr. Jarvis said.
“Arts and recreation services showed more recovery than any other industry from mid-June to mid-July (7.5 percent), however, it continues to be one of the most impacted industries during the COVID-19 period (16.3 percent decrease since mid-March),” Mr. Jarvis said.
Women were hit har. the ABS report shows that while payroll jobs held by men fell by 0.2% in the second week of July, they dropped by 1.1% for women.
