Tara Murray and Michaela Meade
Brimbank has the second highest unemployment rate in Melbourne despite a drop in the percentage of people unemployed, new labour market data reveals.
The data for the June quarter shows that the unemployment rate fell in every Brimbank suburb.
The overall unemployment rate for Brimbank was 10.1 per cent down from 10.9 per cent in the March quarter.
The figure is the lowest since September, 2020.
Neighbouring Hume has the highest unemployment rate at 12.1 per cent.
Central Goldfields, which has a 10.6 peår cent unemployment rate, is the only other area in the state with a higher unemployment in Victoria than Brimbank.
The unemployment rate across Victoria was 4.4 per cent and was 4.9 per cent across Australia, during the same period.
Brimbank and Melton Future Connect executive officer Deirdre Hardy said the rate of unemployment in Brimbank is “fairly damning”.
The group works with young people across Brimbank and Melton, and tries to support them to transition from education to employment,” she said.
“Of course I know that this is a generalisation… [but] I would suggest that the very high level of multicultural [population] impacts the ability to get a job.
“People whose parents came to Australia recently, or who were born overseas, lack the networks that people whose parents have lived here their whole lives have.
“We also know that there are some biases… unconscious biases like if you have a non-Anglo Saxon sounding name.
“Brimbank council is trying to bring more work opportunities to the area and that will employ a lot of local people.”
Ms Hardy said young people are increasingly not having opportunities to do work experience, or to get part-time jobs.
“We really do need employers in Brimbank and Melton to mentor those young people, and provide more for local young kids,” she said.
“They’ve been hugely impacted [by] missing out on things like formals and nights out and just being in the classroom.”
Kings Park continues to have the highest unemployment rate in Brimbank at 14.5 per cent, down from 15.5 per cent in March.
St Albans North’s unemployment rate fell from 15.4 per cent to 14.3 per cent and St Albans South fell from 14.6 per cent to 13.5 per cent.
Sunshine North (12.8 per cent), Sunshine West (11.8 per cent) and Delahey (10.8 per cent) also recorded higher unemployment rates than the Brimbank average.
Keilor and Taylors Lakes had the lowest unemployment rates in Brimbank at 4.8 per cent.
