Australian Treasurer announces post-lockdown job figures

Canberra, Jan 3 (IANS) Australia's labour market has bounced back from coronavirus lockdowns that affected more than half the population late in 2021, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced on Monday.

A total of 485,000 jobs were added to the labour market between September, when New South Wales (NSW), Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) were in strict lockdowns, and November, according to recent official data.

As a result, the number of Australians who are employed is now 5.7 per cent higher than prior to the coronavirus pandemic, reports Xinhua news agency.

Frydenberg used the data to launch an attack on the Opposition Labor Party in the lead up to the 2022 election, accusing leader Anthony Albanese of trying to "sneak into government".

"No one should be fooled by the small-target strategy of Albanese and Labor," Frydenberg wrote in an op-ed for News Corp Australia on Monday.

With the election due to be held by May, Frydenberg set unemployment as an important issue.

"Unemployment is around its lowest level in 13 years at 4.6 per cent, compared with 5.7 per cent when Labor left office," he wrote.

"We are on the cusp of a historic opportunity to create 1 million jobs and drive unemployment sustainably into the low-4s for only the second time in the past 50 years."