by Michaela Meade
Lockdowns and high COVID-19 infection rates have taken a toll on Hume’s workforce, with the municipality recording the state’s highest unemployment rate.
Latest federal government labour market data reveals Hume’s unemployment rate was 12.1 per cent in the June quarter.
Whittlesea’s jobless rate was 8.4 per cent, while the state average was 5.2 per cent, according to the data
Hume Whittlesea Local Learning and Employment Network’s (LLEN) executive officer for Hume, Nicky Leitch, said it was a “wait and see” situation for Hume, warning that the latest COVID-19 lockdown may have adversely affected the city’s jobless rate.
“Because we were such a COVID hotspot, we had a lot of base rate workers, like cleaners and such, get laid off,” Ms Leitch said.
“Casual employment went first, so a lot of our young people were affected, as well as middle-aged women, who were doing the sort of ‘checkout chick’ stuff.
“The demographic of our community meant low vaccination rates, high hotspot numbers, and lots of cultural diversity making it harder to get work.
“It’s almost like all the hard work we’ve done we have to redo now.”
Ms Leitch said despite the high rate, it was not all doom and gloom.
“There are some really good incentives for employers to take on people again,” she said.
“Our employers, a lot are starting to feel more confident in returning.
“We’re not as pessimistic as perhaps we could be.
“I’m hopeful that it’s an anomaly.”
Hume mayor Carly Moore said the fact that Hume’s unemployment rate was “almost double” the rate of greater Melbourne (6.6 per cent) was “unacceptable”
She said stimulating the municipality’s visitor economy and creating jobs would be a key focus of the council’s recovery efforts.
She said that Hume could recover, with the right support.
“Investment which enables employment in our city is critical to our recovery,” she said.
“This can come from developers and new businesses to employ residents and also the Victorian and Commonwealth governments to deliver a range of enabling programs and services that support employment and capacity building.”
