Queensland the place for job seekers

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data reports that there are 33,600 job vacancies currently up for grabs in Queensland

Acting Treasurer Bill Byrne said that was the highest since the end of the mining boom.

“This is very welcome news at the start of 2017 with many school leavers, university graduates and job seekers on the hunt after Christmas and the New Year,” Mr Byrne said.

“The latest data shows a 16.4 per cent increase in job vacancies in the November quarter and the vast majority are in the private sector.

“There are currently 30,500 private sector jobs up for grabs and 3,100 public sector vacancies, which makes Queensland the state of opportunity.

“A significant proportion of this will be seasonal work in retail and also on farms with crops ripe for picking, so as Minister for Agriculture I encourage everyone looking for work to look at local job listings especially in regional Queensland.

“Clearly the private sector is responding to our positive economic plan and good governance in the wake of the LNP’s mismanagement.  

"Our disciplined fiscal management is cause for business confidence as we continue to invest in infrastructure while paying down debt.

“We are also offering some of the most generous incentives in all of Australia to stimulate new housing construction and get unemployed youth into work in regional Queensland.

“Employers need to act fast as they only have until the end of February to access our ‘Youth Boost’ which gives them a massive $20,000 for every unemployed person aged 15-24 that they hire, through the $100 million Back to Work regional jobs program.

“Job creation has been the number one priority of the Palaszczuk Government since coming to office, especially in those regions which are struggling, which is why half of the $10.7 billion allocated to infrastructure in the 2016-17 Budget was invested in regional areas.

"While unemployment has dropped from 6.6 per cent under the LNP to 5.9 per cent under Labor – we know we’ve got more work to do.

“That's why in December we introduced the $200 million Jobs and Regional Growth Package, which incorporates an additional $160 million in new funding on top of the existing $40 million Advance Queensland Industry Attraction Program.

“And our $200 million Works for Queensland program will support local councils across the state to undertake job-creating initiatives, maintenance program or even minor infrastructure projects. 

“We are delivering on our commitment to increase investment in the training and skills needed to strengthen and grow Queensland’s economy with our $240 million Skilling Queenslanders for Work program over four years, which provides training to people who are under-utilised or under-employed in the labour market to help them get employment.

“As well as all that, we allocated a record $12.9 billion to education in the 2016-17 Budget.”

Earlier this week the ABS revealed Queensland retailers entered the busy Christmas trading period on a high with latest figures showing a 4.3 per cent trend increase over the year to November.

“Queensland’s nominal retail turnover surpassed an impressive $61 billion for the 12 months to November 2016, the strongest annual growth of all the states,” Mr Byrne said.

“Overall Queenslanders spent $5.2 billion in November, recording nation-leading monthly growth of 0.6 per cent.

"Queensland also saw a $1.6 billion increase in overseas merchandise exports over the year to November quarter 2016 – a 12.4 per cent increase.

"The value of Queensland’s exports over this period totalled $49.5 billion, a testament to the diversity and strength of the Queensland economy."

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