Michaela Meade
Broadmeadows and surrounding suburbs continue to have the highest jobless rates in Victoria four years after the state government announced funding to tackle the area’s soaring unemployment.
National Skills Commission data reveals Meadow Heights (26.5), Broadmeadows (24.4) and Campbellfield-Coolaroo (24.3) have the highest unemployment rates in the state as of March this year.
The data also reveals that Hume had the highest unemployment rate in Victoria, increasing from 8.7 per cent as of March, 2020, to 13.4 per cent as of March, 2021.
Victoria’s overall unemployment rate is 4.8 per cent as of March, 2021.
Hume council planning and development director Michael Sharp said the city’s unemployment rate has been an “ongoing concern… for well over a decade”.
In 2017, the state government gave Hume council $1 million to help more people in Broadmeadows find work, as the suburb tackled its December 2016 unemployment rate – 24.4 per cent – the highest in the state at the time.
Meadow Heights and Campbellfield had a rate of 22 per cent each as of December, 2016.
“Unemployment in Broadmeadows, Campbellfield and Meadow Heights is particularly concerning, making up more than 7 per cent of Hume City’s total unemployment rate,” Mr Sharp said last week.
“Council has a long-term and continued commitment to support residents to find and retain employment.
“We work with the Victorian and commonwealth governments, employers, education providers and community service providers and have several initiatives that focus on skills development, capacity building and linking people to local jobs and businesses to employees.”
Hume Whittlesea Local Learning and Employment Network executive officer for Hume Nicky Leitch said, “despite our best efforts”, the COVID-19 pandemic had a heavy impact on the jobless rate in Hume.
“Something affecting our rate in our community are {COVID] impacts on the airport,” she said.
“In our area, Melbourne Airport is a major employer… it was severely impacted last year, and a lot of people lost their jobs.”
Ms Leitch said it was “not all doom and gloom”.
“It’s important to highlight the disadvantage, but to also highlight that there is hope,” she said.
Broadmeadows MP Frank McGuire said the state government had established Jobs Victoria to help connect people with work.
Hume residents looking for work can send their resumes to joblink@hume.vic.gov.au
