Budget Paper No.6 1997/98 Northern Territory Economy
Tabled Paper 3223
Tabled Papers for 7th Assembly 1994 - 1997; Tabled papers; ParliamentNT; Tabled Papers
1997-04-30
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https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2019C00042
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/289257
https://hdl.handle.net/10070/404114
Consistent with the strong growth in the Territorys labour market, skilled job vacancies increased 5.5% during 1996. Nationally, skilled job vacancies decreased 11.3% over the same period. In 1996, Accommodation, Recreation, Personal and Other Services accounted for over one fifth of the Territorys total employment due to the rapid growth of the service industries in recent years. Mining, and Public Administration and Defence continue to account for proportionately more people employed in the Territory than nationally, while manufacturing accounts for a significantly smaller proportion of Territory employment. Unemployment The Territorys unemployment rate for 1996-97 decreased significantly from the previous fiscal year to 5.5%, while the national unemployment rate rose slightly from 8.5% to 8.7% over the same period. The Territory continues to have the lowest unemployment rate of any jurisdiction and well below the national average. For the twelve months to February 1997, the unemployment rate in the Territory averaged 5.7% for males and 6.2% for females. Nationally, the unemployment rates for males and females were 8.8% and 8.4% respectively. This is the first time since 1991 that the Territory has recorded a lower average unemployment rate for males than females. This was due in part to a decline in the male participation rate and an increase in the female participation rate during this period. Labour Force In 1996-97, the Territory labour force increased 0.8% to 88 200 persons after a marginal decline of 0.2% in 1995-96. Nationally, the labour force is estimated to have increased by 1.5% after an increase of 2.0% the previous year. The size of the labour force at the national level has been increasing very rapidly each year since 1993-94 after a period of slow growth during the recession. However, the rate of growth is slowing towards a more sustainable level. Unemployment Rates (annual average) 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 1990-91 1992-93 1994-95 1996-97* Northern Territory Australia % Source: ABS Cat. No. 6202.0 * NT Treasury estimate Figure 5.3 Labour Market 29