Australia Jobless Rate Hits 4.6% After 6,000 Full-Time Jobs Vanish Ahead of RBA Decision
Updated
Updated · Nine · Sep 24
Australia Jobless Rate Hits 4.6% After 6,000 Full-Time Jobs Vanish Ahead of RBA Decision
3 articles · Updated · Nine · Sep 24
Summary
Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in August from 4.5%, an unexpected increase and the highest level since the pandemic.
6,000 full-time jobs were lost, but 46,000 part-time roles were added, leaving total employment up 39,000 as a larger labor force pushed 28,000 more people into unemployment.
The participation rate climbed 0.2 percentage points to 67.1%, with the ABS saying more people than usual moved from outside the labor force into unemployment.
Tuesday’s RBA decision is still widely expected to deliver a 25-basis-point rate hike, as Governor Michele Bullock has said unemployment likely needs to sit around 4.5% to 5% to ease inflation pressure.