More evidence of just how heavily the jobs crisis continues to weigh on the PM’s mind came yesterday when Kevin Rudd jumped off the RAAF and made a beeline to the depressed Melbourne suburb of Narre Warren to launch a $950 million jobs and training initiative.

Federal ministers are now backtracking on Treasury’s prediction of a 7% unemployment rate by June next year with a double-digit figure almost certain. But as Glenn Dyer points out elsewhere in today’s edition, the underemployment rate is the real figure to keep an eye on with 13.4%, or 1.475 million Australian workers, seeking more work according to Roy Morgan research.