The New England North West region has lost 1400 jobs in a month.
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The latest Labour Force report "doesn't paint the best picture" of the region's Covid-19 recovery, according to Business NSW regional manager Joe Townsend.
However, as long as we are on par with rest of the state, we shouldn't be too concerned for now.
The figures reveal the region has lost a total of 7800 jobs since Covid hit, with 1400 jobs lost in October alone.
Correspondingly, our unemployment rate has jumped from 4.3 per cent in February to sit around 6.4 per cent.
Business NSW regional manager Joe Townsend said it's not the best news to come out, especially as businesses face positive changes as restrictions ease even further before Christmas.
"Given NSW had recorded jobs created as a whole, it was a little bit concerning that we recorded a negative," he told the Leader.
"That being said, outside Sydney the general consensus is that there's been jobs lost, and we definitely fit within that trend occurring outside of Sydney."
Our residents are currently experiencing a wait of around 34 weeks to find a job, which has increased from the same period last year, but is better than the 12 month average job search time of 38 weeks.
Comparing us to the state average, however, we have the longer wait. Largely driven by Sydney, NSW's average job search period lasted for 27 weeks in November, with a 12 month average of 15 weeks.
Restrictions on numbers allowed in shops, restaurants and functions are easing and the borders are opening as Christmas approaches, all of which should combine to boost job numbers in the New England North West.
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"At the moment the concern for the labour force is that it's painting a negative picture just as we start to see restrictions ease further across the region," Mr Townsend said.
He genuinely believes that come December 1, hospitality and accommodation providers will be back trading at pre-Covid levels.
"The key thing I think is that the borders are all opening. So it's a really welcome move for us which means distant friends, family and relatives will be coming to visit and will keep our trade going."
With a number of large infrastructure projects planned for the region to start soon, namely the Dungowan Dam, Narrabri Gas and Inland Rail projects, investment in the region will give a welcome boost to local economies and businesses, Mr Townsend predicted.
