Qld: Fuel costs increasing unemployment says Premier

AAP General News (Australia)
02-08-2001
Qld: Fuel costs increasing unemployment says Premier

By Dale Paget

GOLD COAST, Feb 8 AAP - Rising petrol prices were making it tougher for Queenslanders
to get jobs, Premier Peter Beattie said today.

The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed Queensland's jobless rate
dropped by 0.1 of a percentage point to 8.1 per cent in January, but the number of those
out of work for a year or more jumped by 10,259 - or 9.3 per cent.

Speaking at a Gold Coast shopping centre, Mr Beattie said the state suffered more than
any other at the hands of the federal government's fuel excise …