Victoria’s lockdown has seen those on jobless benefits jump by 4 per cent in just one month while the number of JobSeeker recipients fall in every other part of the country.

“They are confirmation that if it were not for Victoria, Australia would be well on the road to recovery, and indeed the other states are recovering. But there is still a long way to go in that recovery and the rest of the country has been slowed down by the situation in Victoria.”
The second lockdown in Victoria was put in place to contain a second wave of COVID-19 infections that has killed more than 650, mainly elderly, residents since August.
Official employment figures, released last week, show Victoria was the only state not to show signs of recovery.
While the jobless rate unexpectedly dropped to 6.8 per cent in August, down from 7.5 per cent in July, Victoria saw a decrease in employment of 1.3 per cent or about 42,000 jobs.
The overall unemployment rate in Victoria rose to 7.1 per cent, up from 6.8 per cent in July.
The federal government last week announced that those receiving JobSeeker, who can get up to $1124 a fortnight for a single person, would be subject to tighter conditions including needing to apply for eight jobs a month instead of four.
Job seekers in Victoria will be exempted from the tightened rules as the state copes with the second COVID-19 wave.
Mr Oliver said the longer Victoria’s lockdown lasted, the longer it would take for the state’s economy to recover.
“It’s a bit like unemployment generally the longer you are unemployed, the harder it is get back to work,” he said.
“So for the state of Victoria, the longer you are shut down, the longer it takes to get going again. This second lockdown will have more lasting impact on businesses, jobs and households in Victoria.”