Strugglestreet in Australia as Unemployment hits 12 year high

Unemployment  figures in australia has never been more worse with Unemployment surging to 6.4 per cent, its highest level since August 2002.

In Australia, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.Australia’s top statistical data agency, The Bureau of Statistics estimates that the jobless rate jumped from 6.1 per cent in December to 6.4 per cent in January.

A record 12,200 jobs are estimated to have been lost in January and there is growing concern about the economic ­outlook. The dollar touched a low of US76.26c last week, struck after the RBA cut interest rates for the first time since August 2013.

Things are looking grim  with not only jobs being lost, but the mining industry also being hit hard, particularly the iron ore industry.The price of iron ore — Australia’s largest export — more than halved in value last year, and was 67 per cent below a record high of $US191.70 stuck at the peak of the mining boom in 2011.

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At 6.6 per cent, Victoria’s unemployment rate is now level with that of Tasmania, which is slowly recovering. Only South Australia has a higher rate, at 7.3 per cent.