The Treasurer, Michael Aird, said he was encouraged by the latest ABS labour force data released today showing an additional 500 Tasmanians were employed in May.

“There have now been 3,100 new jobs created in Tasmania in the first five months of 2010,” Mr Aird said.

“These figures highlight the ongoing recovery in the Tasmanian economy.”

Mr Aird said that the unemployment rate was steady at 6.0 per cent in trend terms, which was largely because of an increase of 0.2 per cent in the participation rate.

“Having both employment numbers and the participation rate increase during May is a good sign for the Tasmanian economy.

“In fact, Tasmania’s participation rate has improved by 1.3 percentage points since October 2009, showing Tasmanians’ renewed confidence in their ability to find employment,” he said.

However, Mr Aird said that despite the positive employment indicators, the Tasmanian economy continued to face challenges.

“The recent shut-down of major business operations in the manufacturing and forestry industries and subsequent job losses show that we must continue to be vigilant and work hard to ensure growth in the Tasmanian economy.

“We need to work to provide the stability and certainty that business needs to invest in Tasmania and drive our economy forward.

“Working to provide business with the confidence it needs to invest in Tasmania will be a key priority of mine, and of this Government over the coming months.”