Jobs have been slashed and employment opportunities have all but dried up across the Blue Mountains since lockdowns began at the end of June, new data has revealed.

 

Federal Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman, said payroll jobs have fallen eight per cent in the outer west and Blue Mountains area since June 26 according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which excludes any additional job losses in smaller businesses.

 

The news comes in the wake of a 61 per cent decline in the number of jobs advertised online in the outer west and Blue Mountains since the lockdown began**, the biggest drop recorded across the metropolitan area alongside the outer south-west.

 

“The extent of the losses, especially for the Blue Mountains, won’t surprise people when they see that the categories of Accommodation and Food Services, and Arts and Recreation Services have suffered the biggest declines in job advertisements,” Ms Templeman said.

 

“Hospitality is the second largest job creator in the Mountains behind health services, so this represents a big hit for people looking for work.

 

“This lockdown is having a deeper impact on small business, without JobKeeper maintaining the link between employers and their staff.

 

“The replacement financial assistance was slow to arrive, and is actually non-existent for people like 16-year-old apprentices and new businesses.

 

“For 18 months Labor has been warning the nation’s economic recovery is hostage to the vaccine rollout. Now, we are seeing the consequences of the botched vaccine rollout program, which is hurting workers, small business and the Australian economy. And I’m concerned that, as restrictions lift, it will be small businesses again carrying the burden of enforcement of government-mandated rules.

 

“We can’t have a first-rate jobs and economic recovery with a third-rate vaccine rollout. 

 

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