Almost immediately after the coronavirus lockdowns were announced in Australia, large queues formed outside Centrelink offices as people who had lost their jobs in cafes and bars lined up to register for jobseeker payments. But job losses have continued as companies trim their operations to cope with the downturn.
The Guardian has been tracking announcements of major job losses throughout the economy by Australian companies. We have relied on ASX announcements and reports in the media.
These statistics give a picture of where the job losses are occurring, but understate the size of the losses as we are unable to track jobs lost in the thousands of shops, restaurants, cafes and other small businesses that have closed. It also does not take into account the thousands of self-employed people who have had to shut their businesses.
We have made a distinction between people who have lost their jobs and people who have been stood down, as there is some prospect those stood down will get back to work when the lockdowns are relaxed.
Over time, this tracker will provide a picture of where job losses are occurring and which sectors are being most affected.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is also issuing employment data based on the Australian Taxation Office’s single touch payroll system.
The data, released on Tuesday, shows that between 14 March and 4 April, jobs decreased by 6%.
The accommodation and food services industry saw the largest reduction in jobs (decreasing by 25.6%), followed by the arts and recreation services industry (decreasing by 18.7%), the ABS said.
The Guardian data confirms that these sectors saw the largest drops along with the airline industry.
Have there been job losses in your workplace? Email australia.jobtracker@theguardian.com
