Bathurst unemployment levels declining, Central West rates the lowest in NSW

Department of Social Services figures show the average unemployment rate in the Central West across the last 12 months has been 3.8 per cent. While it includes some pre-pandemic data, it is well below NSW's mark of 6.8 per cent.

That trend is also apparent at a local level.

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Figures for March show unemployment rates in Bathurst and Orange have declined significantly in the 10 months since the pandemic's peak in May last year, by 0.7 and 1.09 percentage points respectively.

Based on the number of people receiving JobSeeker payments from Centrelink, Bathurst's unemployment rate is estimated to be 4.49 per cent, slightly lower than Orange's 4.61 per cent.

Vicki Seccombe, NSW Business Chamber Western regional manager, said the declining employment rates are an obvious boost.

"Much of these declining unemployment rates can be attributed to increased tourism across the region [and] the agricultural sector bouncing back strongly from drought," she said.

"Also, our business sector has mostly been unaffected by restrictions such as those experienced on the borders or the northern beaches."

There were 310 less people in Bathurst, and almost 450 in Orange, receiving JobSeeker payments in March compared to May 2020, with marked drops month-to-month since the beginning of 2021 too.

An average of more than 30 people per month leaving the welfare system so far this year has been observed across both cities. In Bathurst, there were 1667 people who received JobSeeker payments in March, while there were 1,897 in Orange.

An identical trend has been noted in Dubbo too which, in this context, falls into the Far West-Orana catchment, with a decline of 1.38 percentage points in terms of unemployment rate estimates.

Dubbo's rate of unemployment is estimated at 5.35 per cent for March.

March was also the last month for businesses to claim JobKeeper wage subsidies and the final month that unemployed people received an extra $150 per fortnight via JobSeeker's coronavirus supplement.

The coronavirus supplement had effectively doubled unemployment payments at the height of the pandemic, but that figure was cut back in stages.

From April 1, most unemployed people have been receiving about $50 more per fortnight under JobSeeker than under Centrelink's pre-pandemic Newstart Allowance.

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