It's a very interesting proposition that could help struggling regional fire stations attract the next generation of volunteers.

The idea was floated by Tasmanian Liberal MP Gavin Pearce as a way of boosting numbers at stations in the state's outlying areas after a recent recruitment drive failed to attract enough volunteers.

It's also an idea that would benefit other regions across Australia.

In 2019, The Age reported the nation's volunteer firefighting force had reduced by about 18,000 members in the past decade.

With CPI rising and people still struggling financially due to the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, covering the wages of volunteer firefighters could be a big step towards encouraging Australians to rejoin the brigade.

The nation's February job figures were released today and revealed the underemployment rate, which refers to people with jobs who would like more hours, rose from 8.1 per cent to 8.5 per cent.

With so many Aussies looking for more paid work, it's going to be a hard slog to convince people to take up volunteer positions that could require them to be away from paid employment and their families for long periods.

In some positive news, Australia's unemployment rate fell to 5.8 per cent in February, down from 6.3 per cent in January.

Full-time employment increased by 89,000 people, of which 69,000 were women.

The youth unemployment rate dropped by 1.1 percentage points to 12.9 per cent.

It comes as the JobKeeper coronavirus supplement is due to end on March 31, meaning those still receiving the payment in April will get $100 less every fortnight.

The end of the wage subsidy will be a true test of what Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described as a "truly remarkable" recovery in the jobs market.

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