EVEN though JobKeeper helped preserve employment when the Australian economy was put into "hibernation" to counter coronavirus, the national jobless rate rose by almost 20 per cent in April to 6.2 per cent.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimated that the number of people in work fell by 600,000, while the number of unemployed rose by 100,000.
Some 5.6 million people worked fewer than their usual hours: 3.7 million in full time jobs and 1.9 million part-time.
This evaporation of work helped fuel a youth unemployment rate of more than 15 per cent in the Hunter Region.
As bad as these figures are, the full employment impact of the COVID shutdown will not be apparent until the ABS releases the next round of figures, for May.
As Hunter Research Foundation lead economist Anthea Bill observes, this is not the first time in recent memory we have had such high levels of youth unemployment.
Unfortunately, past experience has shown it generally takes a considerable time to drive these jobless rates down again, once they have spiked.
ABS retail trade figures published last week show turnover fell a substantial 17.7 per cent, seasonally adjusted, during March.
The clothing and footwear sector fell off a cliff, with a downturn of 53.6 per cent. Cafes, restaurants and takeaway shops were down 35.4 per cent, and food retailers 17.4 per cent.
All of these areas rely heavily on young people for employment, as the 15-to-24-year-olds themselves rely on the mainly part-time and casual jobs these sectors provide.
The ability to find work when young is an important part of growing up. For many people, a job in a restaurant or cafe or shop is a transitory, short-term affair.
For tertiary students it's often something to supplement a government allowance.
But whether it's a stepping stone to something more, or the early years of a working life spent in the same area, the availability of such jobs - and of a suitable and affordable workforce to fill them - are signs of a prosperous society and a healthy economy.
Working conditions for young people will test the federal government's commitment to fairness as employers push use COVID to justify changes to the industrial relations system.
The ACTU may well be the only real voice they have at the bargaining table, even though fewer than 12 per cent of retail workers had joined a union, at last count.
ISSUE: 39,631.
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