Friday, 10 April 2020
The South Australian Business Chamber says today’s unemployment figures were concerning and showed further action was needed to ensure the economy could bounce back after the COVID-19 crisis.
The peak industry body says while relief measures to date had been welcomed, for many businesses it simply hasn’t been enough.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures for March, released today, show SA’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate climbed to 6.2 per cent, up from the February rate of 5.8 per cent, the worst performing State in the nation.
The South Australian Business Chamber CEO Martin Haese said the figures were worrying because they don’t take into account the full impact of the COVID-19 shutdown.
“Today’s unemployment increase of 0.4 per cent is unfortunately, only the tip of the iceberg for things to come,” said Mr Haese.
“We are also likely to see an increase in underemployment as many employees either remain on the books or have reduced hours. These statistics are not captured in the unemployment figures and hide the full extent of the employment issue in South Australia.
“Overall, businesses have welcomed the significant amount of relief provided to date by State and Federal Governments to ensure that their staff could be retained in some capacity.
“However, what we are hearing daily from our members is that while the relief provided to date has assisted with keeping employees on the books, many businesses are still extremely challenged with managing cash flows, and more is required to support commercial leases through land tax, ESL and council rate waivers, not just deferrals.
“Utility costs were another area which COVID-19 impacted businesses were looking for more support, and not just those whose consumption had dropped by 75 per cent or more.”
Mr Haese also called on ‘all’ banks to step up their game to assist businesses, particularly in the decimated sectors of hospitality and tourism.
Despite today’s figures, Mr Haese remained optimistic they could be turned around. “South Australia’s goal should be to come out of COVID-19 without having the highest unemployment rate in the nation and together I strongly believe we can achieve that,” Mr Haese said.
“It is better to overshoot the mark now with stimulus and support measures than be left with cleaning up the mess of a decimated small business sector across South Australia in coming months.”
