Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the effective unemployment rate is “around 13.3% right now” and ” “that is a large number of people reflecting the economic challenges that we see right now.” His number is nearly double of the official data of 7.1%.
“We have seen a big reduction in hours worked in the months since the Covid pandemic first hit in Australia,” Frydenberg further explained. “That just reflects the enormous economic challenge that we face and the impact it’s having on the unemployment rate.”
Frydenberg added that there will be a “second phase of income support” to be delivered with the fiscal and economic statement on July 23. “It will be governed by the same principles that have defined our economic measures to date, namely that our support will be targeted, it will be temporary, it will be designed based on existing systems and it will also be demand driven,”
