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STATE Treasurer Andrew Fraser (pictured) is putting the focus on jobs creation to lead Queensland's flood recovery. It follows the latest ABS statistics showing 17 straight months of jobs growth in Queensland.
"The economic impacts of this disaster cannot yet be quantified, but what we do know is many businesses have been impacted. What we don't want is for that to impact Queensland workers," he says.
"The Bligh Government has established an economic recovery taskforce as part of its flood response, and this body will work with business and industry to get the economy back up and running.
"We need to get businesses back on their feet so they can continue employing Queenslanders."
The ABS December employment report show 25,000 Australians found jobs in December as employment figures continue to rise.
The recovering national economy will also benefit from a 0.2 per cent decrease in the unemployment rate to 5.0 per cent in December.
The number of people jobless decreased by 25,400 people to 598,700, with labour force participation across the country also rising 0.2 percentage points to 65.8 per cent.
The male unemployment rate decreased 0.2 points to 4.7 per cent and the female unemployment rate decreased 0.2 points to 5.3 per cent.
The figures follow a strong end to 2010 for full-time job increases, however the latest statistics show part-time workers are also following suit in the New Year.
Recruiter Alex Correa told Brisbane Business News that infrastructure projects, the mining and resources boom and the return of small business confidence will see unemployment figures continue to drop.
“What we’ve found with participation is that more people are returning to the workforce at the moment – they might have been out of it for a few years, maybe even setting up their own businesses, but post-GFC they are coming back,” she says.
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