March unemployment figures raise eyebrows
March's unemployment figures have shown only the slightest uptick in jobless Australians, but the data preceded the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 5.2 per cent of the workforce was unemployed, up 0.1 per cent on February's figures.
But those numbers were calculated from the first two weeks of March.
People line up outside the Centrelink in Osborne Park, Perth in late March. Sharon Smith/Nine
"It is important to note that the reference period for March was 1-14 March, which was before a global pandemic was declared and before the major actions in Australia to contain the spread of the virus," the bureau said, when releasing the data.
The lockdown has made it difficult for bureau staffers to gather data.
"While the ABS suspended face-to-face interviews during the last week of March 2020 enumeration, there was no notable impact on survey collection operations or the quality of March data, with response to the survey at a similar level to previous months," the ABS statement read.
"The ABS acknowledges the continued support of Australians in responding to our surveys during such a difficult time, given how critically important this information is."
A long queue around a Centrelink office in Brisbane in late March. AAP
The World Health Organisation did not declare a pandemic until March 11, meaning only three days of data collection were taken after this.
The shutdown of non-essential services in Australia did not fully begin until March 22, and the JobKeeper payment was not announced until March 30.
It is expected that unemployment will peak in the double digits.
On Tuesday Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he expected it to be around 10 per cent.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg arrives for a press conference about the unemployment rate. Alex Ellinghausen/The Sydney Morning Herald
"But for the JobKeeper package, unemployment would have peaked at 15 percent - five percentage points higher.
"The JobKeeper package is providing an economic lifeline to millions of Australians.
"At $130 billion, it's a wage subsidy the size and scale and scope of which Australia has never seen before."
Six million Australian workers are set to benefit from the package.
Normally a stock market bellwether, the unemployment data has had a negligible impact on the ASX 200 this morning.
READ MORE: Centrelink $750 explainer: Who gets it, when it arrives
READ MORE: Australia's $1500 'Job Keeper' payment explained: How it works
Graphic: Tara Blancato
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