Perth suffers biggest unemployment increase of any Australian capital city

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PERTH recorded the biggest unemployment rise of any major Australian capital city last year, with limited public transport in battler suburbs partly blamed. The number out of work in the northeast suburb of Girrawheen soared almost 50 per cent in 2014 – one of the biggest increases anywhere in Australia. The suburb’s population has boomed over the past five years, but suffers from poor public transport connections to work centres, according to local leaders. 
Dr Kirsten Martinus, assistant professor of economic geography at UWA, said suburbs facing “structural poverty” need better connections to social, economic and educational opportunities.