Unemployment rises to 4.5 percent in July, hours worked drops: ABS

Hours worked also slipped 0.6 percent in July with New South Wales and Western Australia being the main drivers.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent in July as the number of employed people fell by 16,000 in the month, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' (ABS) latest Labour Force data. According to the ABS, the employment-to-population ratio and the participation rate both fell 0.2 percentage points, to 63.9 percent and 66.9 percent respectively, whereas the underemployment rate was 6.4 percent in July. Hours worked also slipped 0.6 percent in July with 12 million less hours worked...

Sign in below or register now to read the full article

Authors:

Published Date: 24 August 2026