Job growth slows in October
Australia’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% in October, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Employment rose by 16,000 people in October, while the number of unemployed increased by 8,000, keeping the unemployment rate unchanged for a third consecutive month. The current rate sits 0.6 percentage points above its recent low of 3.5% recorded in June 2023 but remains 1.1 percentage points below the 5.2% level reported in March 2020, prior to the pandemic.
“The number of unemployed people in October was 67,000 higher than a year ago, but still 82,000 below March 2020 levels,” said Bjorn Jarvis (pictured above), head of labour statistics at the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Despite the increase in employment, growth has slowed. October’s 0.1% rise was the smallest monthly increase in recent months, below the average 0.3% monthly rise observed over the prior six months. As population growth outpaced employment gains, the participation rate dipped slightly to 67.1%, though the employment-to-population ratio remained at a historical high of 64.4%.
Monthly hours worked also rose by 0.1% in October, aligning with the modest employment growth. This marks the sixth consecutive month where hours worked have grown at the same rate as employment.
“Since the pandemic, growth in hours worked has varied more than employment, but recent months have shown a closer alignment,” Jarvis said, commenting on the latest Labour Force statistics.
In other measures, the underemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 6.2%, and the broader underutilisation rate, which combines unemployment and underemployment, remained at 10.4% — significantly lower than the 13.9% level seen in March 2020.
Trend data showed a steady unemployment rate at 4.1% for the fifth month in a row. In trend terms, employment grew by 36,800 people (0.3%) in October, outpacing the 20-year pre-pandemic average growth rate of 0.2%. Hours worked also rose by 0.3% in trend terms.
The participation rate reached a record high of 67.2% in October, driven by increased participation among both men and women. Male participation was 71.3%, up 1.1 percentage points from March 2020, while female participation reached 63.1%, a 1.9 percentage point increase from pre-pandemic levels.
“Female participation has increased notably from its pre-pandemic level, now about two percentage points higher, roughly double the increase for men,” Jarvis said.
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