SA joblessness falls, still nation's worst

South Australia's unemployment rate is still the worst in the country but has fallen significantly and there are brighter days ahead, the state government says.

SA's jobless rate fell 0.3 percentage points to 6.8 per cent in April, which Employment Minister Kyam Maher says is the second-largest drop of any state in Australia, behind only Tasmania.

"There are now 814,000 South Australians in jobs, which is an all-time record," he told reporters on Thursday.

SA's jobless rate remains well above the national average of 5.7 per cent but Mr Maher said growth in areas such as food manufacturing was pushing it down.

He also talked up SA's manufacturing future in the wake of defence contracts being handed to Adelaide, including Australia's next fleet of submarines and future frigates.

"These aren't just (thousands of) short-term jobs. These will be high-tech careers for many decades to come and there will be many thousands more indirect jobs as a result," Mr Maher said.

But the Liberals said remaining at the bottom of the jobs pile for 17 consecutive months wasn't anything to celebrate.

"This government is setting mediocrity as their benchmark," employment spokesman Corey Wingard said.

"The jobs that are being created are just part-time jobs. South Australia has become the part-time state. Full-time jobs are disappearing."

Business SA said youth unemployment in Adelaide's northern suburbs remained alarming high, and asked the government to reinstate payroll tax exemptions for apprentices and trainees.