A recent study has revealed large
parts of the Hunter will likely see an increase in unemployment throughout this
year.
The study released by the Centre of
Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE) at the end of last year named 14 Hunter and
Central Coast suburbs as high risk localities for unemployment rises.
The suburbs included; Muswellbrook,
Singleton, Belmont South and Maitland West.
CofFEE Director, Professor Bill Mitchell said the study
is the second of its kind for the area.
The reason for higher unemployment was
contributed to a high rate of causal work and lower education levels among
residents.
“Regions that have
a high percentage of casual or part time work can tend to face more job loss
that regions that have strong full time employment,” Professor Mitchell said.
The areas at risk also had a high concentration of “sensitive”
industries.
“We know that some industries like manufacturing,
construction, retail trade, hospitality, these sorts of sectors are more sensitive
to economic slowdown than other industries. So if a local area has a high proportion
of the more sensitive industries it’s likely that they’ll experience greater
job loss,” Professor Mitchell said.
The national unemployment rate was 5.8 per cent as of
December and is expected to rise above 6 per cent this year.
