Businesses are going to the wall and more Australians are picking up second or third jobs to make ends meet under Labor’s cost-of-living crisis, Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster says.

Almost 10,000 businesses have gone bust in the past 12 months and 967 companies across construction, hospitality and retail entered administration in February according to preliminary figures from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

“February was the worst month for insolvencies since October 2015, driven by Labor’s cost-of-living crisis,” Dr Webster said.

“Alarmingly, most insolvencies are small and medium enterprises which means mums and dads are forced out of work and have to make desperate choices to keep a roof over their family’s heads.”

Victorian insolvencies have more than doubled since the Albanese Labor Government took office, rising from 790 in the three quarters of 2021/22 leading up to the May 2021 election, to now 1,689 over the comparable period. National insolvencies in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing have almost doubled under Labor, with 81 for the current reporting year up to March, up from 43 the same 9-month period leading up to the May 2022 election.

Dr Webster said increasing costs including skyrocketing rent, mortgages, power prices and grocery bills are also forcing Australians to work harder for less, an underlying story behind yesterday’s unemployment rate falling to 3.7 per cent for February 2024.

“Almost one million Australians are now working second or third jobs simply to get by,” Dr Webster said.

“Since the election, the number of multiple job holders has increased by more than 100,000 people. Wages are not keeping up with inflation, so working more hours is keeping people’s heads above water. Labor’s failures on workplace relations, energy, housing, food production and tax continue to drive up the cost of living for all Australians.”