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Australia’s unemployment rate drops to 3.9 per cent in November

According to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australia’s unemployment rate fell to 3.9 per cent in November

David Taylor, ABS head of labour statistics, revealed that the employment rate rose by 36,000 people, and the number of unemployed dropped by 27,000.

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“We saw more people moving into work, particularly those who had been waiting to start jobs in October,” Mr Taylor said. 

November’s employment growth of 0.2 per cent aligns with population increases and follows an average monthly rise of 0.3 per cent since mid-2024.

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Underemployment, which is another key measure of labour market health, also showed improvement, falling to 6.1 per cent. 

This figure is 0.6 percentage points lower than a year ago.

Despite these positive trends, the ABS noted a marginal decrease in hours worked for November. 

“This is the first time in six months that hours worked didn’t match employment growth,” Mr Taylor added.

He said the change would remain consistent with broader employment and population growth over the year.  

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