According to the latest data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australia’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 per cent in August.
The findings have revealed that the number of unemployed people fell by around 10,000, while the number of employed people grew by around 47,000, in August.
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Notably, the employment-to-population ratio for men climbed to 68.1 per cent, while it remained at a near-historic high of 60.6 per cent for women.
Kate Lamb, ABS head of labour statistics said: “The high employment-to-population ratio and participation rate shows that there are still large numbers of people entering the labour force and finding work, as employers continue to look to fill a more than usual number of job vacancies.”
In terms of employment, the number of full-time workers rose by 30,600 to reach 9,980,100, while part-time employment saw an increase of 9,700, bringing the total to 4,463,500.
“While the number of unemployed people fell slightly to 627,000 in August, it has risen by around 45,000 people since the end of 2023,” Ms Lamb said.
The report also shows that the percentage of individuals working fewer hours due to illness remains higher than pre-pandemic levels.
“However, the proportion of people working less hours than usual due to economic reasons, such as no work or less work available, is below pre-pandemic levels, which points to continued relative tightness in the labour market.”
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