City of Kwinana’s employment rallies in 2021

Business confidence grows as unemployment rates rally in the City of Kwinana.

The City of Kwinana’s unemployment rate has fallen below that of Armadale, Gosnells and Mandurah for the first time.

While Perth has experienced an overall decline in unemployment following the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate in Kwinana has steadily fallen from a peak of 11.8 per cent in December 2019 to 10.1 per cent in March, outpacing falls in many other areas and resulting in rates now lower than Armadale, Gosnells and Mandurah which observed an increase according to the Australian Government’s Labour Market Information Portal for Local Government Areas.

Rockingham’s unemployment rate also eased in the past year and Cockburn experienced marginal change.

The City of Kwinana’s Mayor Carol Adams said these figures were encouraging and the City had observed recent businesses confidence.

“We’ve seen significant business confidence in the area, with the butcher in Kwinana Marketplace expanding to increase its offerings; Covalent recently announced it would be entering the Kwinana Industrial Area to process lithium; and we have Costco coming, along with other major retailers, plus the Waste to Energy Plant in Kwinana and the planned Outer Harbour expansion will all provide significant increases in job opportunities within the City,” Mayor Adams said.

“The City of Kwinana has also promoted local shopping which our community has embraced to further boost business confidence.

“Home-based businesses are leading the way, with people often opting to use services and buy goods closer to home as a result of the pandemic,” Mayor Adams said.

Mayor Adams said Kwinana Meat and Poultry owner Adam Grizich nearly doubled the floor space of his store and employed an extra five people, with the new-look premises opening in Kwinana Marketplace on Thursday, 12 August.

A day care centre for dogs in Medina has also reported an increase in demand in recent months with up to 40 dogs in Pooches Playroom on any given day.

For more information about the City of Kwinana’s business supports, visit https://www.kwinana.wa.gov.au/business-and-development/business-support.