PM warns crisis will hit Australian jobs

21 Jan 2009, 1:35 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Economic growth will slow and unemployment will rise, but the government will be "up front" with Australians about how they will be affected, Kevin Rudd says.

Economic growth will slow and unemployment will rise, but the government will be "up front" with Australians about how they will be affected by the financial crisis, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.

BHP Billiton on Wednesday said it would cut more than 3,000 local jobs after deciding to shed 6,000 positions worldwide, while leading retailer Harvey Norman also forecast a series of job cuts.

Mr Rudd said the global financial crisis would affect Australian jobs.

"The government has been up front about the fact that Australians will be affected, growth will slow, unemployment will rise given the deteriorating global outlook," Mr Rudd told reporters in Sydney.

"Already we've seen job cuts at many Australian major corporations. We know that many small business are also finding it tough to keep their staff employed."

"In the coming year, it's jobs that matter the most."

The prime minister said he intended to be "up front about the impacts of the global financial crisis on this economy".

"I intend to be up front with the Australian nation about what we are doing and what we can do about it," he said.

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