Australia records lowest unemployment rate for a decade

The headline from this week’s Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) jobs data is very positive, but there is a counter-balancing element in the detail – underemployment, writes Jodie Patron.

Broadly, the labour market continues to show strength across a range of key indicators. The official unemployment rate has fallen to 4.9 percent seasonally adjusted, the lowest since December 2010. Just as important, the share of the population in a job (employment to population ratio) has continued to rise, now at 63.0 percent, the highest ever recorded (records go back to 1978). This is encouraging. Equally positive is the nature of the employment – full-time jobs rose 51,600 while part...

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Authors: Jodie Patron

Published Date: 16 July 2021