Unemployment climbs but labour market more resilient than expected
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The news: The jobless rate climbed to 3.8% in March, with the labour market continuing to be stronger than expected.
The numbers: The participation rate fell 0.1 percentage points over the month, to 66.6%, in seasonally adjusted terms.
Overall employment was a mixed picture. It fell slightly to 14.26 million people, with an increase of 27,900 full time workers more than offset by a decline of 34,500 part-time workers.
Monthly hours worked increased to 1.96 million, while the underemployment rate decreased 0.1 percentage points to 6.5%.
The context: Economists had been expecting the unemployment figure to hit 3.9% last month, after a surprisingly strong February. Some economists had been expecting the unemployment rate to be in the 4% range.
The labour market has continued to surprise in today's figures, showing resiliency. This is a critical part of the Reserve Bank's decision making ahead of its May rate call.
What they said: “The labour market remained relatively tight in March, with an employment-to-population ratio and participation rate still close to their record highs in November 2023," ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.
“In trend terms, the growth rate in employment and hours worked was weaker than the strong growth during late 2022 and early 2023. However, the recent trend data still point to a tight labour market."
The source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
