This note provides commentary and analysis on the monthly labour force survey data, which estimates Australian employment, unemployment, underemployment, labour participation and hours worked.
- 14 Sep 2023 Employment August 2023
Employment rose by 64.9k in August, well above the 25.0k pencilled in by the consensus. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, both in seasonally adjusted and trend terms. Western Australian employment rose by another 14.7k in August, but the unemployment rate picked up 0.3ppts to 3.8% amid a 0.7ppts surge in participation to a six-month high of 69.3%.
- 17 Aug 2023 Employment July 2023
Employment declined a seasonally adjusted 14.6k in July, which came against the consensus forecasts of a 15.0k increase. The unemployment rate rose 0.2ppts to 3.7%, slightly more than the 0.1ppts increase to 3.6% pencilled in by the consensus.
- 20 Jul 2023 Employment June 2023
Employment rose a seasonally adjusted 32.6k in June, which was significantly more than the 15k pencilled in by the market consensus. The unemployment rate remained at 3.5%, with the May figure revised down 0.1ppts.
- 15 Jun 2023 Employment May 2023
Employment surged a seasonally adjusted 75.9k in May, which was significantly more than the 14.8k pencilled in by the market consensus. The unemployment rate unexpectedly ebbed 0.1ppts to 3.6%, as the number of unemployed people declined by 16.5k to be 6.4% down through the year.
- 18 May 2023 Employment April 2023
Employment ebbed a seasonally adjusted 4.3k in April. The slight decline in April was a surprise to the market participants, who expected a 24.5k gain. The unemployment rate saw an unexpected 0.2ppts increase to 3.7% in seasonally adjusted terms, against no change pencilled in by the market consensus.
- 13 Apr 2023 Employment March 2023
March was another bumper month for the Aussie labour market, with employment surging a seasonally adjusted 53.0k (exp. 20.0k), following a revised 63.6k increase in February (revised from 64.6k). The unemployment rate was steady at 3.5% in both seasonally adjusted and trend terms.
- 16 Mar 2023 Employment - February 2023
Employment surged a seasonally adjusted 64.6k in February, more than the 49.1k expected by the markets. The unemployment rate declined 0.2ppts to 3.5% (mkt exp: 3.6%), to be back at the December 2022 level.
- 16 Feb 2023 Employment - January 2023
Employment declined a seasonally adjusted 11.5k in January, against the market expectations of a 20.0k gain. This followed a 20.0k drop in December (revised from -14.6k).
- 19 Jan 2023 Employment - December 2022
Employment fell a seasonally adjusted 14.6k in December, against the market expectations of a 25.0k gain. The unemployment rate was unchanged from the upwardly revised 3.5% for November.
- 15 Dec 2022 Employment - November 2022
Employment rose a seasonally adjusted 64.0k in November, much more than the 17.0k expected by market participants. The unemployment rate remained at an equal monthly series low of 3.4% in seasonally adjusted terms. The underutilisation rate, which combines unemployment and underemployment, fell to a 40-year low of 9.2%.