
“Almost 600,000 jobs have been lost.” Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s latest press conference.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have faced the media to give an update on Australia’s unemployment figures.
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday indicated the unemployment rate spiked a full percentage point to 6.2 per cent in April.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, it is the largest number of people out of work since September 1994, with young workers hit the hardest.

Youth employment (for 15 to 24 year olds) is now at 13.8 per cent, making it double the national unemployment rate.
"This is a tough day for Australia. A very tough day," the Prime Minister said.
"Almost 600,000 jobs have been lost. Every one of them devastating for those Australians, for their families, for their communities. A very tough day. Terribly shocking, although not unexpected."
Treasure Josh Frydenberg reiterated the importance of the Government's financial committments, such as JobSeeker and JobKeeper.
April's unemployment figures paint a bleak picture, with record numbers of Australians out of work as the economy hemorrhages during the worst pandemic in a century. https://t.co/93WY5gmIjF @olivialeeming #auspol #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/zy9zs4skjK
— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) May 14, 2020