MEDIA RELEASE

 

WHEN WILL TONY ABBOTT START FIGHTING FOR JOBS?

 

Labour force figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) should be the wake-up call Tony Abbott desperately needs to start fighting for Australian jobs instead of throwing up the white flag.

 

The ABS data shows the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by 0.1 per cent from a revised 5.9 per cent to six per cent in January.

 

The last time Australia’s unemployment rate was six per cent was in July 2003 when Mr Abbott was Employment Minister in the Howard Government.

 

Even during the Global Financial Crisis, Labor kept Australians in jobs and the unemployment rate under six per cent.

 

A further 7,100 full-time jobs were lost across the economy in January, taking to 63,300 the number of full-time jobs lost since Mr Abbott was elected in September.

 

This has been a terrible week for Australian jobs. First Toyota announced it will shed 2,500 jobs and just yesterday 1,300 Forge Group workers in Western Australia and Queensland were told they are now jobless.

 

Before the election Mr Abbott promised Australians he would create one million jobs, but since September more than 63,000 people have joined the unemployment queue.

 

If the Prime Minister doesn’t start fighting for jobs now, when will he?

 

Mr Abbott must immediately explain how he is going to create the one million jobs he promised before the election.

 

Workers are angry that Mr Abbott is simply waving the white flag and not fighting for Australian jobs.

 

This is another example of Australians not getting the Government they voted for.

 

THURSDAY, 13 FEBRUARY 2014


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