The state of Mandurah's economy has again been called into question after the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures revealed a steep increase in the unemployment rate.
Mandurah's unemployment rate in November 2019 was 7.2 per cent - the highest it has been in almost 12 months.
To put that into context, just four months earlier the unemployment rate had dropped to a six-year low of 5.2 per cent.
In June 2019, the Mandurah Mail reported more people were in a job at the time than at any point in the city's history.
The unemployment rate was also the lowest it had been since January 2013, with 2600 unemployed people living in Mandurah.
By November, this had risen to 3500 people and the number of local people working had also dropped.
Statistics show there were 45,700 employed people living in Mandurah in November, compared to 46,100 in August, 2019 - the highest recorded number in ABS history.
Despite seeming like alarming statistics, Peel Chamber of Commerce and Industry general manager Andrew McKerrell said the figures were not a "cause for concern".
"At first glance, they may not look good, but I see potential. Given the timing of this release, a multitude of possible contributing factors come to mind," he said.
Mr McKerrell said the unemployment rate increase could be due to a rise in the number of job seekers and new candidates entering the available workforce.
"The first factor that must be considered is the seasonality of our main employment sectors being retail and tourism," he said.
"The second factor that should be considered when assessing this increase is the annual influx of new human capital into our available workforce, being the newly graduating year 12 students from across our region.
"When considering this factor in particular, alongside the plethora of capital works, infrastructure and economic development projects underway and the large amount of private industry investment currently on the horizon, we see huge potential and opportunity for not only our current employment candidate base, but also for our community as a whole."
Mr McKerrell said he had plenty of hope for those seeking work in the Peel region
"To bring those figures down, we need to plan and up-skill for employment opportunities," he said.
"We also need to diversify our economy to be strong and dynamic across all seasons of the year and work collectively to ensure those who are seeking work are provided with the best support available to place them with suitable employment opportunities."
