Youth Unemployment down in WA

6/4/00
Western Australia recorded the lowest youth unemployment rate in the country during March, with Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released today showing a fall from 21.3 per cent in February to 19.3 per cent last month.
This figure is well below the national average of 22.6 per cent.
The unemployment rate rose marginally from 6.3 per cent during February to 6.5 per cent last month, 0.4 per cent lower than the national rate and the second lowest in the country.
This is in line with the national trend, which saw rates increase from 6.7 per cent to 6.9 per cent during March.
Employment and Training Minister Mike Board welcomed the figures as a sign of a stable and strong economy.
"We have the second lowest rate in the nation, just half a per cent behind NSW which is enjoying a pre-Olympic employment boom," he said.
"This is proof the State Government's economic management is having a positive effect on labour-market confidence."
Mr Board said the fall in youth unemployment was good news for the State's young people.
"This is a tangible sign the State Government's commitment to vocational education and training and youth employment strategies is having a positive result," Mr Board said.
"Western Australia has the nation's highest school-leaver participation rate in vocational education and training through the TAFE sector, which means we are producing a growing number of job-ready young people.
"The State Government's support of skills-based training is a strong weapon against youth unemployment and the figures are there to prove it - in 1999, more than 80 per cent of TAFE graduates either found employment or went on to further study."
Media contact: Tamatha Smith 9222 9211