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This article was published on Wednesday, 25 January, 2017. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

Drop in unemployment rate good news for region

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed regional employment increased by 16,400 persons for the December quarter, the highest increase in Australia.

The unemployment rate dropped 0.8 points in the quarter, with the annual pace of total job creation in regional Victoria still leading the nation.

The Hume region’s unemployment rate dropped from 6 per cent to 4.4 per cent, and Shepparton’s from 7.1 per cent to 5.7 per cent.

Greater Shepparton City Council’s Mayor, Dinny Adem says the drop in the unemployment rate is good news for Shepparton and the region. “We have seen an influx of new business and industry in the last 12 months and new building projects such as the court precinct development that have provided employment for people locally,” said Cr Adem.

“The construction of the new Shepparton Art Museum and the redevelopment of GV Health will provide further employment opportunities in the next few years during construction. In addition both developments will create ongoing employment for the region once completed.”

“This reduction in unemployment demonstrates that great things are happening here in Greater Shepparton and it really is a great place to live, work and invest. Council is focussed on strategies that attract more industry to the region which in the long run benefits the whole community,” said Cr Adem.

A media release from Robin Scott, Acting Treasurer stated that since the Labor Government came to office, an extra 43,300 regional Victorians are now gainfully employed – including 9,400 on a full-time basis.

The figures come off the back of last week’s ABS data, which showed an extra 118,500 people were employed in Victoria in 2016, 67,800 of these full-time. There have been almost 200,000 new jobs created in Victoria since November 2014.

Victoria’s labour market is expected to remain robust, with recent trends in leading indicators of employment growth, indicating solid job growth is likely to continue.