UNEMPLOYMENT is on the rise in Melton as the western suburbs bear the brunt of the state’s jobs slide.
More than 860 locals joined the jobless queue in the past 12 months, taking the total number of unemployed residents in the shire to 4190.
Employment data for the March quarter shows the area’s adjusted unemployment rate shot up from about 6.5per cent to 8.5per cent in a year. The state average is 5.2per cent.
The jobs slide looks set to continue, according to Melton employment agency Matchworks, with manufacturing being pounded by a high Australian dollar.
“In the western suburbs we haven’t got the mix of industries you would get in the CBD so we’re reliant on manufacturing, retail and hospitality,” general manager Michael Wasley said.
“Australia is struggling to compete in manufacturing and when times are tough the trade and hospitality sectors suffer.”
Melton Labor MP Don Nardella called on the state government to fund roads projects to boost connectivity to the rest of Melbourne.
“Duplicating the Melton Highway could create hundreds of local jobs as part of further enhancing the economic efficiency of Melton,” he said. “You then link in much more easily to the airport and to jobs in the Tullamarine employment precinct.”
WISE Employment manager Richard Verhagen said inadequate transport was among barriers faced by Melton job seekers.
Amidst the negativity, Melton resident Danielle Rowland said she had found her dream job. With a passion for animals, the mother-of-five contacted Macedon’s Wild Action Zoo, volunteered part-time and was soon on the books with wage subsidies from an employment service. “I’ve been unemployed for most of my life, but from the time I went looking for different options of work or different courses. I realised it had to be what I wanted to do,” she said.
“I think it’s more about trying hard enough and putting in the effort to find work … that’s why it’s called work.”
