JobSeeker numbers show Canberra is not insulated from nation's economic problems

There's long been a risk in Canberra that the city's unemployment and poverty go hidden. This is even more true as the economy crashes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The public sector's relative job security and higher wage levels can mask the harsher realities of the ACT economy. It then becomes harder for those left behind to be recognised, and have their voices heard.

Joblessness isn't always obvious in the headline figures. Unemployment rates can be misleading, and the signs of economic downturn won't always be visible on a drive through the city. In that way, joblessness in Canberra is all the more cruel, because it's less acknowledged.

The economic downturn so far has not hit the ACT as badly as other jurisdictions. But social welfare figures last month punched a hole in the myth that Canberra is insulated from the country's broader economic problems.

The number of people receiving the JobSeeker payment in the ACT had more than doubled since the pandemic hit, even though the territory's unemployment rate had remained largely stable.

New data from the Social Services Department gives a more detailed look at the spread of economic pain across Canberra.

There are differences between postcodes, and electorates, which seem to show larger numbers of JobSeeker claimants and recipients in northern suburbs. Population may explain much of this - Belconnen was the ACT's most populous area at the last census and Gungahlin is fast-growing.

The areas also have the youngest populations in the territory, along with North Canberra, which also had higher numbers of JobSeeker claimants.

In that way, the JobSeeker data might reflect an economic downturn hitting the workforce's youngest members hard.

Aside from the sheer number of claimants, northern suburbs also seemed to have larger growth in JobSeeker recipient numbers.

The clearest picture from the data is that JobSeeker claims have surged across all Canberra postcodes, and that the city is not protected from the economic shock of COVID-19 restrictions.

Even as public sector employment remains stable during the downturn and keeps a floor under the ACT's joblessness rate, as seems likely, the struggle of private sector employers will be harder to detect.

As ever, Canberra's unemployment is a story that could go largely unheard.