The number of people without work in NSW has fallen to the lowest level in more than four decades as the state economy adds jobs despite high inflation and rising interest rates.
Only 135,000 people in NSW were unemployed in May, Bureau of Statistics figures show, the smallest number since January 1982 when the state’s population was about one-third less than it is now.
The strong demand for labour means unemployment across many Sydney districts has averaged below the 3 per cent mark for more than a year. The best unemployment rate on an annual average basis was in the Sutherland area at 2 per cent, followed by Northern Beaches (2.3 per cent), Ryde (2.5 per cent) and North Sydney and Hornsby (2.6 per cent).
Sydney’s south-west region had the highest unemployment rate in the metropolitan area at 5.3 per cent, which was above the inner south-west and Parramatta districts (both 4.2 per cent). Even so, unemployment rates across west and south-western Sydney are now considerably lower than they were for much of the past decade.
Unemployment rates in regional NSW have been better than in Greater Sydney for much of the past year.
Employment in NSW surged by 28,600 jobs in May, cutting the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to 3 per cent, the equal lowest since monthly records began in 1978 (the previous record low was in October last year). At the same time, total employment in the state hit a record high of 4.36 million.
The NSW unemployment rate has been less than the nationwide rate for the past 12 months and was lower than any other state or territory in May.
The number of people seeking work in NSW has been reduced by 175,000 since total unemployment peaked at 307,000 in mid-2020, following the onset of the COVID-19 crisis and statewide lockdowns.
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