Deb Frecklington says Queensland had four consecutive years of the highest unemployment in the nation before the pandemic. Is that correct?
ABCThe claim For years, Queensland's unemployment rate has been above the national average. "When you've had four consecutive years of the highest unemployment rate in the nation — and this was before COVID — Queenslanders deserve a government that has an economic plan to drag Queensland out of the recession and get people into jobs," Ms Frecklington said. Likewise, using a rolling monthly average measure to calculate the unemployment rate for all 12-month periods to March 2020 does not show Queensland experiencing Australia's highest unemployment rate for four consecutive years. Comparing Queensland's average monthly unemployment rate to the rest of Australia across calendar and financial years using the ABS trend data does not show the state experiencing the highest unemployment rate in Australia for four consecutive years before the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, at no point over the four years to March 2020 does the ABS data show four consecutive 12-month periods in which Queensland experienced the highest average unemployment rate in the nation.
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