UNEMPLOYMENT figures in the ACT has bucked the national trend of the growing optimism in Australia in the wake of the global pandemic.
For a change since the number of jobless across the country sharply began to rise in March 2020, one of the few jurisdictions that led an economical revival later in the year amid the easing of government restrictions in Canberra has also hit a wall in the month of January.
An increase of unemployed in the capital was up by 0.7 per cent last month from December just as Australia’s rate was down by 0.2 per cent, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures.
It was the equal highest monthly spike in the nation along with South Australia.
The overall rate in the ACT still remained the lowest, after a seasonally-adjusted 4.4 per cent of Canberra’s working population actively looking for a job compared to 6.4 per cent nationally.
It was one of the highest participation rates in Australia from December to January.
The territory also had the lowest underemployment rate of 5.7 per cent.
This revival of John Bell‘s Fascist-era “Tosca” confirms its likely place at the top of Opera Australia’s repertoire for a long time, writes arts editor HELEN MUSA in her review.
