Tasmania's economy is strong and surpassing expectations with the lowest unemployment rate in the State's history and the latest Deloitte Access Economics Business Outlook Report backs that up, despite tough economic headwinds ahead.
While the report forecasts a growth in employment of 2 per cent in 2022-23, yesterday's ABS jobs data shows Tasmania has already surpassed this, with a growth in employment over the last 12 months to June 2023 of 3.2 per cent.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said that we are always mindful of economic conditions going forward and recognise the challenges ahead.
"That's why it's more important than ever that Tasmania's economy is managed by a Liberal Government – one that has a proven record of managing budgets, creating surpluses, and driving more economic activity," the Premier said.
"The Tasmanian Liberal Government is focused on the real numbers that mean something to Tasmanians, such as our record unemployment rate of 3.8 per cent - the lowest in Tasmania's history, and half what it was under the disastrous Labor-Green Government in 2014.
"Tasmanians still remember the dark days of the Labor-Green recession, where the unemployment rate had a seven in front of it.
"It was a Liberal Government that repaired the budget and bought it back to surplus – ensuring that we were in a strong position to support Tasmanians through the pandemic.
"Since getting elected in March 2014, we have seen over 56,000 more Tasmanians in jobs, including over 29,700 more women in jobs and 7,500 fewer unemployed Tasmanians.
"This is not a coincidence; our Government's long-term plan to build a strong economy and deliver jobs growth is working and now, more than ever, it's important that we not only maintain but accelerate this momentum.
"We have proven that our approach works and we assure Tasmanians that we will not rest on our laurels.
"And after nine years in opposition, they still haven't learned their lessons. We already know Labor would blow the budget by billions, and they aren't even in Government.
"Tasmania's strong financial position and the strength of our economy enables us to deal with any economic headwinds, just as we did through the COVID-19 pandemic."
