Unemployment rate steady at 4.1% in September
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The news: The unemployment rate was steady at 4.1% in September in seasonally adjusted terms. The August unemployment rate was revised to 4.1%, from 4.2%.
This was roughly in line with market expectations of a steady read, though economists had expected 4.2% in line with the unrevised figure for August.
The numbers: The participation rate increased to 67.2%. Overall, employment increased by 64,100 with full-time roles increasing by 51,600 and part-time jobs up 12,500 but an additional 9100 losing their positions.
The underemployment rate was broadly flat and there was a 0.3% lift in monthly hours worked.
The context: The labour force figures are one of the final pieces of critical economic data to be released ahead of the Reserve Bank's 5 November rate decision, alongside September quarter inflation due at the end of October.
With soft signals from other indicators, including job advertisements, economists have been waiting for this to translate into the headline jobs figure. The resiliency of the labour force has surprised some commentators during this cycle and it looks as though this strength is going to continue to throw forecasts off kilter.
What they said: "Employment has risen by 3.1% in the past year, growing faster than the civilian population growth of 2.5%. This has contributed to the increase in the employment-to-population ratio by 0.1 percentage point, and 0.4 percentage points over the past year, to a new historical high of 64.4%," ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.
“The record employment-to-population ratio and participation rate shows that there are still large numbers of people entering the labour force and finding work in a range of industries, as job vacancies continue to remain above pre-pandemic levels."
The source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
