Labour Force Data

Mrs PEARCE (King) (14:30): My question is to the Deputy Premier. Can the Deputy Premier provide the house with an update on the South Australian labour force?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Deputy Premier, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (14:31): I thank the member for King for her question. Indeed, I think all South Australians will be pleased to know that the latest labour force statistics are very welcome for South Australia and for South Australians. We are this month at the lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate on record—3.6 per cent—and, indeed, below the Australian average.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Premier has the call.

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE: Not only have we seen a decrease in unemployment but we have, not unexpectedly, seen an increase in employment. In fact, our increase in employment over the last year is over the Australian average also, an increase in number of jobs. There are now a record 958,200 people who are employed in South Australia. That is almost 50,000 people who are employed now who were not at the 2022 state election, which is an extraordinary achievement for the entire state.

People who look into unemployment figures understand that participation rate matters a lot. Has unemployment gone down because fewer people are looking for work? Indeed, that isn't the case. There has been a slight increase in participation rate and it is also the third highest on record. So we not only have very low jobs numbers and good growth in jobs but also we have people willing, able and wanting to be in employment, which is important.

Another statistic, which I think we can all be collectively proud of, is that we have continued to see a positive net interstate migration figure. It's absolutely essential of course that we continue to be able to grow. We need people with skills and we need people who want to come here and make their lives here. To have people choosing to come from interstate net positive is extraordinarily important.

There is also an increase in population due to net overseas migration. Some 25,000 people have moved to South Australia from overseas throughout the last year—again, an endorsement of what's happening in South Australia and why people might want to come here. Almost 9,000 of those movements occurred within the March quarter. This is consistent with what we are seeing elsewhere. We are seeing an increase in international students. International students of course bring family and friends to visit. They stay longer and spend more than most tourists and they start to have a very positive impact on our economy.

This is of course not in any way to be complacent. We all know that the economic times at present are very difficult. They are complex for people who are facing cost-of-living challenges, and we can never be complacent that the good unemployment figures, low unemployment figures and good jobs growth figures are going to be maintained.

What we can be sure of is that on this side of the house, in this government, we are dedicated to making sure that we put every element in place that's required to have a strong economy, more people being educated with more skills and more opportunities so that they can have a higher standard of living so that we are able to continue to see not only that growth in numbers of people employed but that growth in the quality of life of South Australians, which this side of the chamber, at least, is dedicated to.