Australia's job losses from coronavirus pandemic are devastating, PM says

The massive blow to Australia's employment sector from COVID-19 pandemic-driven lockdowns is "devastating", Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday after data showed the jobless rate surged to a 19-year high. "These are our dark times, but I can see that ray of light, and I'm sure Australians can see that," he told reporters in Canberra.

Official data out earlier showed nearly a quarter of a million people lost their jobs in May, sending the unemployment rate to 7.1%, the highest since October 2001.