January’s jobs growth beats expectations

The strength of the labour market has been somewhat surprising given the weakness in the economy, particularly the private sector, writes KPMG Economist Michael Malakellis.

The resilience of the Australian labour market has shown itself again, with employment rising by 44,000 in January - more than double market expectations – all of which were full-time jobs. While the number of unemployed people also rose by 23,400 – meaning the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1 percent from December – the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) also reported that part of the increase in January was due to an unusually high number of people who had a job but ...

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Authors: Michael Malakellis

Published Date: 21 February 2025