REVEALED: Australia's JobSeeker epicentres where unemployment is surging as households struggle through the pandemic - so how does your hometown fare?

The Australian towns worst-hit by the coronavirus pandemic have been laid bare by new data, with Mandurah in Western Australia and Sydney's inner west leading the pack.

Mandurah in WA's southwest is the worst affected area, with unemployment rising from to 18 per cent, according to labour force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The coastal city - about an hour's drive from Perth - has seen the joblessness rate rise by 11.6 per cent in the last year to July.

Mandurah in Western Australia's southwest and Sydney's Inner West have been listed as the worst affected areas, according to labour force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics

It was closely followed by Sydney's inner west which had an unemployment rate of 9.4 per cent. 

Its figure was eight percentage points higher than in 2019, The Australian reported. 

Other badly affected areas include Coffs Harbour and Grafton in New South Wales, Wide Bay in Queensland and north-west Melbourne.   

 

Other greatly affected statistical areas include Coffs Harbour (coastal area above) and Grafton in New South Wales, Wide Bay in Queensland and North West Melbourne

Hardest hit areas: Early 2020 v July 2020

Mandurah - 11.6 per cent to 18 per cent 

Sydney Inner West - 8 to 9.4 per cent

Coffs Harbour-Grafton, NSW - 7.9 per cent to 11.6 per cent

Melbourne North West - 7.3 per cent to 12.6 per cent

Wide Bay -  7 per cent to 17 per cent

Darling Downs-Maranoa, QLD - 6.8 per cent to 8.7 per cent

Brisbane East, QLD - 6.7 per cent to 9.3 per cent

Ballarat - 5.6 per cent to 6.7 per cent

Sydney city and inner south - 5.5 per cent to 9.2 per cent

Moreton Bay-South, QLD - 5.1 per cent to 10.5 per cent

Australia 2.2 per cent to 7.4 per cent

Source: ABS via The Australian 

National unemployment actually fell to 6.8 per cent in August after 111,000 new jobs were created.

The surprise figures came after Australia's total unemployment figure hit 7.5 per cent in July - a 22-year high. 

But there are fears the rate of unemployment could rise again when the JobKeeper subsidy ends, which is likely to force businesses to let staff go. 

National Australia Bank chief economist Alan Oster said the 111,000 new jobs created last month simply reflected a surge in the number of people identifying as self-employed. 

'There was a big spike in those that were basically self employed and not employing anybody,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Friday. 

The Reserve Bank of Australia said on Thursday that recessions had 'enduring effects on unemployment rates.'

'Regions that experienced larger-than-average downturns had significantly higher unemployment rates for around a decade afterwards,' it stated on its website.

RBA added 'early 1990s recession led to an even wider range of outcomes, with regional unemployment rates changing by between -5 and 13 percentage points.'

'These differences in the "initial exposure" of regions to national recessions can reflect differences in industry composition, demographics and average skill levels, among other factor.'  

Wide Bay MP Llew O'Brien told The Australian towns within his electorate had 'really serious high unemployment and really serious youth unemployment'.

Wide Bay MP Llew O'Brien told The Australian towns within his electorate had 'really serious high unemployment and really serious youth unemployment'. Pictured: Burnett Heads in the Wide Bay electorate