Australia sheds 39,000 jobs in September, unemployment at 4.7%
- Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.7% in September.
- Employment fell by 39,300 people to 14,782,700.
- Part-time employment fell 73,700 while full-time rose 34,400.
- The participation rate fell 0.2 points to 66.8%.
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA — Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.7% in September as the number of employed people fell by 39,000 and the number of unemployed rose by 9,000. A drop of 73,700 in part-time employment outweighed a gain of 34,400 in full-time employment.
Participation falls
The employment-to-population ratio fell 0.3 percentage points to 63.6% and the participation rate fell 0.2 points to 66.8%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said in a release on Oct. 15. The underemployment rate rose 0.1 points to 6.3%.
“This September a higher proportion of people remained unemployed compared to recent years,” said Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics. “This follows from last month when a higher proportion of people who were previously not in the labour force moved to being unemployed.”
Hours still growing
Part-time hours worked fell 1.5% while full-time hours rose 0.4%, leaving total hours worked up 0.1% for the month. Over the year, employment rose 1.2% and hours worked rose 1.3%. Employment stood at 14,782,700 people in September, still 168,300 higher than a year earlier, and monthly hours worked reached 2,011 million.
In trend terms, which the ABS recommends as the best measure of the labor market’s underlying behavior, the unemployment rate stayed at 4.6% and employment grew 0.1%. The trend underutilization rate rose marginally to 11.0%. The September survey covered the two weeks from Aug. 30 to Sept. 12.
A note of caution
The ABS said a new Supplementary Survey collection model may leave a small residual influence on September’s seasonally adjusted data, which will become clear only with time. It also adjusted the weights of around 1,400 respondents, about 2.8% of the sample, in one rotation group in Victoria.
There were 732,000 unemployed people in September, 55,200 more than a year earlier, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose 0.1 points on unrounded figures.
For Australian employers, rising unemployment and falling part-time work could ease some hiring pressure, even as full-time employment grows. Firms weighing offshore outsourcing or hiring abroad through an employer of record (EOR) can compare providers on the top BPO companies in Australia list.
Related news
- Canada sheds 68,000 jobs as youth employment falls: StatCan · 16 Oct
- U.S. adds just 29,000 jobs in September as unemployment holds at 4.2% · 9 Oct
- Bendigo Bank cuts 140 jobs in outsourcing push · 23 Sep
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