Unemployment rises but more jobs created than expected

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The jobs market has never been larger with more than 15 million people now working or looking for work. While unemployment edged up slightly last month more jobs than expected were created and most of them have been filled by women.

Transcript

00:00I'm following up on the Strategic Procurement Lead Rule.

00:06Dilhara Sivalingam has been out of work since October.

00:09When I submit an application and cross my fingers and look at my laptop, I feel like

00:14on the other side of that laptop someone's going swipe left, swipe left, swipe left,

00:18too expensive, too experienced, don't like her name.

00:22Federal Government for Defence.

00:24The 49-year-old has applied for hundreds of jobs, but the reality is bleak.

00:29I borrowed money from family to keep me going, but at the end of this month I have to ring

00:35the bank and say I can't afford my home.

00:38But there may be some hope.

00:3944,000 jobs were added to the economy in January, all full-time roles, mainly filled by women.

00:47Female workers also made up the bulk of 23,400 people joining the jobless queue, with some

00:53waiting to start new roles.

00:56More people decided to look for, or find work, pushing the participation rate to a

01:00record high.

01:02All this meant the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1 per cent.

01:06As households have found themselves under greater financial pressure, more women have

01:10returned to work and more women are working full-time.

01:13But the jobs market could get tougher.

01:16It is reasonable to expect that in the months ahead with the sort of uncertain global conditions

01:20that we may see a further slight increase in unemployment.

01:24A number of fashion brands have collapsed and more employers are axing staff.

01:29Westpac just announced 190 job losses and thousands could go in Victoria's public sector

01:35in the coming weeks.

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