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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 1 Hansard (14 February) . . Page.. 125 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: Nationally, 42.1 per cent of firms intend to hire more staff in the health, medical-

Mr Berry: How many jobs did you lose?

MR HUMPHRIES: In the health, medical and pharmaceutical sectors 42 per cent intend to take on more staff across Australia. In the ACT that figure is 80 per cent. There is very strong growth in IT. Fifty-six per cent of employers in the financial services section intend to take on more staff and 53 per cent of employers in IT plan to hire more staff as well.

The strength of employer optimism in the ACT reflects the very productive approach the government has taken towards encouraging high technology in the ACT. The number of job ads in the ACT as a result has grown by 71/2 per cent in the past 12 months and more than 30 per cent in the past two years. Nationally, of course, over that period there has been-

Mr Berry: All of these wild predictions won't save you, Gary. The fact is that jobs are-

MR SPEAKER: Quiet please, Mr Berry.

MR HUMPHRIES: Nationally, in the past year there has been a decrease of jobs in job advertisements of 21.4 per cent.

Mr Berry: Talk about the real figures, Gary.

MR HUMPHRIES: In the ACT there has been a large increase. I do not know why Mr Berry finds that so difficult.

Mr Berry: You will not talk about the real figures, Gary.

MR HUMPHRIES: I do not know why he finds it so disturbing that more Canberrans are getting jobs.

Mr Berry: Well, I am being provoked, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Berry, I warn you.

Mr Stanhope: How many jobs did we get in January, Gary?

MR SPEAKER: Mr Stanhope, I will warn you too shortly.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I know it is easy to spring on a small variation-and I mean a small variation-in the unemployment figures in one month. Mr Berry made a statement to the effect that there had been a 0.3 per cent increase in unemployment. That was not true. The increase was 0.1 of a per cent and our unemployment remains the lowest in Australia by a country mile. I have nothing to be sorry about whatsoever.

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