ONLY CHARTS #173

Aus labour market, Aus population growth

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1. Australia’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2% in August (in unrounded terms it declined from 4.24% to 4.16%). That occurred alongside another strong rise in employment of +47.5k m/m, taking the employment-to-population ratio 0.1ppts higher to 64.3%.

Australia’s unemployment rate is tracking in line with the RBA’s latest forecasts.

The increase in Australia’s unemployment rate over the past couple of years alongside a broadly unchanged employment-to-population ratio is very unusual. The difference this time is a rising participation rate which typically declines when labour market conditions soften.

2. The resilience of Australia’s labour market continues to stand out among peer economies. Employment-to-population ratios are falling elsewhere, and unemployment rates are typically rising more quickly than in Australia.