Fed: Longterm jobless figure rises first time in 8 months

AAP General News (Australia)
04-13-2000
Fed: Longterm jobless figure rises first time in 8 months

The number of long-term unemployed people in Australia increased in March for the first
time in eight months.

The rise is almost entirely due to a huge climb in the number of women out of work
for between one year and two years.

Australian Bureau of Statistic figures show the number of people out of work for a
year or more rose 3,700 to 183,300, seasonally adjusted.

The figures follow an increase in the overall unemployment rate by 0.2 per cent to
6.9 per cent last month.

The number of people out of a job for two years or more dropped by 4,600 to 112,600.

But those out of work for between 12 months and two years climbed by just over 9,000.

Meanwhile, new Centrelink figures out today show more than 33,000 people dropped off
dole queues in March.



But the Centrelink data can't be directly be compared to the Bureau's figures because
of the different methods used to collect the data.

AAP RTV dep/rft/mfh/as/rt

KEYWORD: JOBS (CANBERRA)

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