WA labour market remains firm

Issue Date: - Thursday, 9 October 2008

Western Australia has continued its long run as the state with the nation’s lowest unemployment.

Figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics put WA’s jobless rate for September at 3%, still considerably lower than the national rate of 4.3 %.

Acting Executive Director of Labour Relations with the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection, Mr Bob Horstman, said today’s September figure was a marginal easing on August’s equal record low of 2.8 percent.

It is the fourteenth month in a row Western Australia has had the lowest unemployment rate of all the states.

However, Mr Horstman once again warned that the current figures were not as reliable as those in the past due to reduced sample sizes in the labour force survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Media contact: Rick Powell, Senior Media/Public Relations Officer,
Labour Relations Division, Department of Consumer and Employment Protection.
Phone (08) 9222 7634 Mobile 0407 424 129
Email rick.powell@docep.wa.gov.au