Thursday, 25 June 2026

The Hon Tim Wilson/Senator Jane Hume - Young Australians wearing the cost of Labor's economy

Australians in jobs is always a good thing, but the fact remains that Australians are working harder but going backwards under Labor. 

While the government boasts about creating 1.25 million new jobs, this has simply kept up with population growth. The population to employment ratio has remained steady since Labor came to office.

The fact is that 119,000 more Australians are out of work today since Labor came to power.

Young Australians are bearing the brunt. Youth unemployment is more than twice the national rate at 10.4% and there are 62,400 more young Australians unemployed now than when the Coalition office.

Almost 267,000 young Australians are now looking for work and coming up empty. That’s 30,000 more than a year ago, and the number has climbed every single month since.

Nearly 1 million Australians are working multiple jobs trying to make ends meet, including a record number of women and young Australians.

Shadow Minister for Employment and Industrial Relations Senator Jane Hume said Australians are working harder but finding it harder to get ahead.

“Australians are living the consequences of Labor’s economic mismanagement and the tax changes they’re ramming through the Parliament are only going to make the situation worse.

“Young Australians are being hit in every direction. They’re paying more for rent, struggling to buy a home and now facing a weaker job market.

“Almost a million Australians are now working multiple jobs, including record numbers of women and young Australians, while job loss anxiety is at levels we haven’t seen since the pandemic. That’s not the mark of a strong economy. It’s the consequence of Labor’s economic failure,” Senator Hume said.

Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson said, “Labor’s Budget has shattered confidence in the economy, and now they're fuelling inflation by growing the number of jobs funded directly and indirectly from public spending”.

“Over half of all new jobs since Labor came to power are funded directly and indirectly by public spending which is fuelling inflation because they cannot give confidence to investment to build the private economy. Labor are managing Australia's decline not giving Australians hope”, Mr Wilson said.

ENDS.