Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says in the past five years 40,000 new jobs were created.
Sayed-Khaiyum says this is based on data from FNPF and surveys carried by the Reserve Bank of Fiji.
He made this comment while he was responding to a question from a year 13 student from Bucalevu Secondary School during the online budget consultation about a lack of job opportunities available in Fiji.
Sayed-Khaiyum says statistics confirm that unemployment is at the lowest level in 20 years at 4.5%.
The Minister adds that government is constantly working on further reducing the unemployment rate by liberalizing the economy to create economic opportunities which in turn leads to job creation and sustainability.
He says they are also creating opportunities for our youth to not just become job seekers but job creators through initiatives such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme programme.