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EMPLOYMENT statistics have confirmed what central Victorian jobseekers have known for some time: part-time work is flooding the labour market, while full-time job opportunities are on the slide.
Department of Employment data shows an 18 per cent increase in part-time employment in the Bendigo area in the year to April.
The 4800 additional part-time jobs boosted the region’s overall level of employment, which rose by 5.4 per cent to 71,100.
However, there were 1100 fewer full-time jobs, a drop of 2.6 per cent.
“At first glance, the apparent strengthening in conditions in the Bendigo [area] would tend to indicate the region’s labour market is no longer marked by considerable disadvantage,” a department spokesperson said.
But, while there had been some improvement in the region’s labour market conditions, the spokesperson warned the statistics should be viewed with “extreme caution” because of “considerable volatility”.
“It is worth noting that the proportion of the population aged 15-64 on income support in Bendigo stood at 17.2 per cent in April 2017, well above the 12.2 per cent recorded for Australia,” the spokesperson said.
“Similarly, the number of unemployment beneficiaries in Bendigo has risen by 0.2 per cent over the year, above the 0.6 per cent decline recorded for Victoria but below the 0.9 per cent increase for Australia.”
The Bendigo region described by the data encompasses an area of 11,842 square kilometres, extending from Boort and Pyramid Hill in the north to Kyneton and Castlemaine in the south.
Maryborough is included in the Ballarat region.
The unemployment rate in the Bendigo area dropped by 2.6 percent in the 12 months from April 2016, to 4.2 per cent in April 2017.
Though the unemployment rate was well below the national rate, of 5.7 per cent, the participation rate was lagging behind.
The participation rate refers to the proportion of working-age people in the economy that are either working or looking for work.
Though the rate increased by 0.5 percentage points during the year to April, to 59.2 per cent, the national rate was 64.8 per cent.
The region’s youth unemployment rate dropped by 2.8 percentage points during the period, to 6.6 per cent, according to the data.
Trades come out on top
With the exception of trade qualified job-seekers, Access Australia Group chief executive officer Michael Langdon said many applicants were experiencing difficulties with finding full-time work in Bendigo.
“If you’re trade qualified, no worries,” Dr Langdon said.
He said the majority of jobs on offer were either part-time or casual, and employers were generally receiving a high number of applications.
However, the organisation said it was slightly easier to find opportunities to place people in jobs during the first quarter of this year, compared with the last quarter of 2016.
Labour market conditions were stronger statewide, with 115,600 jobs created in Victoria in the year to April.
Dr Langdon encouraged employers to consider diversity in the workforce.
Up to 450 people in its Disability Employment Services program are either trying to find a job, or are in supported employment.
About 124 young people are involved in the Transition to Work program.
Talking politics
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas has linked the strength of the state’s jobs growth with its governance.
“We promised we’d get Victoria back to work, and that’s exactly what we’re doing, right across the state,” he said.
There were 24,800 new jobs in regional Victoria in that period.
In the three months to April, more than 15,000 regional Victorians found a new job.
But federal Member for Bendigo Lisa Chesters said demand for jobs surpassed supply in her electorate.
“There are hundreds of central Victorian people who want to work but are finding it really difficult to find a job,” she said.
“I've meet too many local people who have applied for hundreds of jobs but rarely get an interview let alone a job.”
She said the lack of secure, full-time jobs was feeding inequality and putting emergency relief centres and social services under pressure.