While the latest GDP figures show the economy has shrunk seven per cent in the three months to June, one employment agency says the local job outlook is not all bad.
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BEST Employment is a not-for-profit organisation that delivers several Federal and State Government work programs across the New England North West NSW, Darling Downs and the Granite Belt regions of Southern Queensland.
Tammurah Lamson is the performance manager for the Inverell and Glen Innes agencies and says while unemployment is expected to rise there are areas of growth in some sectors of the local economy.
"With JobKeeper and JobSeeker assistance due to scale back we are expecting an increase in the number of people looking for work, however, the good news is, there are jobs out there," Ms Lamson said.
"Both Inverell and Glen Innes have had strong vacancy enquiry in the past couple of months and we are seeing a high number of positions in the hospitality sector - particularly chefs/cooks and bar staff, and local manufacturing and processing business have been recruiting strongly.
"We are also expecting an increase in the agricultural sector as the weather warms and, hopefully with the onset of summer rain."
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Last week the Federal Treasurer announced that as the GDP figures show two consecutive quarterly falls, Australia's economy has officially dived into its first recession in nearly 30 years.
This economic contraction is Australia's largest single-quarter decline on record. During the 1980s recession the economy shrunk by less than four per cent in one quarter and until yesterday that was the worst in recent decades.
And let's remember, the most recent stats don't include the impact of Melbourne's second lockdown.