Name: Unemployment rise 'devastating' for Australians hit by coronavirus restrictions, PM Scott Morrison says - ABC News
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Unemployment rise 'devastating' for Australians hit by coronavirus restrictions, PM Scott Morrison says - ABC News

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SharePrime Minister Scott Morrison says the loss of nearly 600,000 jobs in April is "devastating" for Australian families and communities affected by government restrictions and business shutdowns.The comments come after the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced ."Almost 600,000 jobs have been lost, every one of them devastating for those Australians, for their families and communities," the Prime Minister said."A very tough day, terribly shocking, although not unanticipated."Mr Morrison said Australians should prepare themselves for similar announcements as the impact from the coronavirus shutdowns continued to become clear."We knew there would be hard news as the pandemic reaps an impact on Australia, as it is on countries around the world," he said."In the months ahead, we must brace ourselves for further hard news for Australians to take, but it's important on a day like today that we remember to support each other."The rate is less than economists expected, with some surveyed by Reuters expecting the unemployment rate for April to reach 8.3 per cent.Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the was because of the Government's JobKeeper program."Today's unemployment numbers reveal the real and painful economic impact of the coronavirus," he said."There is still a long way to go and the economic numbers will get worse before they get better."[Australians] know their government has their back."Mr Frydenberg said of the 594,000 people no longer in work, the majority — 325,000 — were women and the youth unemployment rate also rose to 13.8 per cent, up from 11.5 per cent."This reiterates why our financial commitments to respond to the coronavirus were, and are, so important," he said.The JobKeeper program, which is running for six months until September, will be reviewed at the end of June, and Mr Morrison said that would provide a chance for tweaks to be made to the scheme.When asked whether that would include tapering off payments at the end of September, as opposed to snapping back to previous measures, Mr Morrison left the door open for change."The timeframe for this was set out at the time it went through the Parliament and the review will provide an opportunity to see how the program is going and the experience on the ground and make any amendments that are necessary," he said.There are now 6 million Australians on the JobKeeper scheme and 1.6 million on the JobSeeker unemployment benefit.Minister for Employment Michaelia Cash also announced on Thursday the suspension of the requirement for people on JobSeeker to be actively seeking work, known as mutual obligation, had been extended nine days from May 22 to June 1.Senator Cash said the obligation would be reintroduced in three stages and there would be no penalty to people who did not fulfil their requirements during the first two stages of its reintroduction.Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the fact the unemployment rate was lower than forecast by some economists was not a cause for celebration."That's a devastating figure, they're all people with families with a need to put food on the table," Mr Albanese said."They're people who are our friends, our relatives our neighbours."They're people who won't be receiving the sort of income you get in work that then helps stimulate the economy."The problem here is that there will be a cumulative effect." Mr Albanese and his deputy, Jim Chalmers, also criticised the Government's JobKeeper program, saying it was leaving people like casuals and those in the arts and entertainment industries behind."The Labor market has been weak for some time [but] the Government wants Australians to believe everything was perfect in the economy and then along came coronavirus," Mr Chalmers said."Unemployment and underemployment will be worse than it needs to be because the Government has taken a good idea in JobKeeper and badly implemented it."14 May 202014 May 2020Thu 14 May 2020 at 2:07am, 14 May 202014 May 2020Thu 14 May 2020 at 1:25pmMore on:

SharePrime Minister Scott Morrison says the loss of nearly 600,000 jobs in April is "devastating" for Australian families and communities affected by government restrictions and business shutdowns.The comments come after the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced ."Almost 600,000 jobs have been lost, every one of them devastating for those Australians, for their families and communities," the Prime Minister said."A very tough day, terribly shocking, although not unanticipated."Mr Morrison said Australians should prepare themselves for similar announcements as the impact from the...

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Unemployment rise 'devastating' for Australians hit by coronavirus restrictions, PM Scott Morrison says - ABC News

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