Fed: Jobs figures not a bad outcome: Howard

AAP General News (Australia)
04-12-2001
Fed: Jobs figures not a bad outcome: Howard

PERTH, April 12 AAP - Prime Minister John Howard said jobs figures out today were "not
a bad outcome".

Australia's unemployment rate fell 0.1 per cent to 6.8 per cent in March, according
to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

While the unemployment rate fell, the number of people in work dropped by 8,500 people.

The number of people out of work also fell, by 11,300, to 662,400.

"Looking at some of the doom and gloom predictions (from) some quarters over the past
few weeks, it's not a bad figure; I don't want to put it any more strongly than that and
I can't guarantee what it's going to be in the future but it's not a bad outcome," Mr
Howard said.

"There's still a growth in full-time jobs.

"We have an unemployment rate now that's still dramatically lower than what it was
five years ago when we came to government."

AAP sd/gmw/br

KEYWORD: JOBS HOWARD

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