Treasurer Jim Chalmers under fire for blaming unemployment increase on Donald Trump's tariff policies
ABS figures released on Thursday showed unemployment had increased from 4.1 to 4.3 per cent in June, the highest rate since 2021.
The two percentage point increase means there are now 34,000 more unemployed Australians than there were in May.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers described the increase as both 'unwelcome' and 'unsurprising'.
'We did see a small tick up in the unemployment rate. This is unwelcome, but it's also unsurprising. We've been saying for some time, including in our own budget forecasts, that we expect a modest tick up in the unemployment rate,' Mr Chalmers told ABC Radio National.
The federal Treasurer said there was a lot of 'volatility, unpredictability and uncertainty' in the global economy due to President Trump's trade policies, and this was affecting the decisions of Australian companies.
'That's certainly the feedback that we get around the place, speaking with CEOs and meeting with company boards and the like and with economists,' he said.
'There is a real sense that this volatility and unpredictability and uncertainty is really a defining and an ongoing feature of the global economy, and our own economy is not immune from that.
'So I think certainly people see this uncertainty and unpredictability as a new normal.'
However Shadow Treasurer Ted O'Brien hit out at the Treasurer's comments, telling Sky News "After three years in power, Jim Chalmers has no one else to blame but himself for Australia's stagnating economy and declining living standards."
"Chalmers' latest attempt to blame shift is an insult to the 33,000 businesses that have gone under on his watch because they couldn't afford to keep the lights on, let alone hire new staff, under Labor's economic mismanagement.
"As the RBA has indicated, a big part of why rates are staying higher for longer is big public spending."
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