MOSCOW, August 7 (RIA Novosti) - The Australian unemployment rate reached 6.4 percent in July, the highest result so far in 2014 and in the past 12 years, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
The figure is a 0.4 percent rise from the month of June when the rate stood at 6 percent. The number of unemployed people increased by 300.
The number of full-time jobs is said to have increased by 14,500 in July, with the number of part-time jobs dropping by 14,800. The highest unemployment rate across the country was registered in the state of Victoria at 7 percent.
Several big companies conducted a range of layoffs in recent months. The world’s largest mining company BHP Billiton planned back in June to cut about 3,000 jobs from its iron ore division. Boeing intended to cut 300 jobs in its Australian branch, while BP and Philip Morris had plans to cut in excess of 500 jobs back in April.
The numbers are falling as the mining investment boom in Australia that helped the country through the 2009 financial crisis is beginning to wane.
The country saw only a 4-percent unemployment rate in 2008 when most developed countries were on the verge of slipping into recession the following year.
However, supplying sand seems to be on the rise at the moment in the country as more and more companies are beginning to explore the possibilities of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to extract oil and gas. The process utilizes sand mixed with water and chemicals. With gas companies eager to extract more, the demand for different types of sand increases, though impact of this boom on employment remains to be seen.
