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Investing.com - The unemployment rate in Australia held steady at 3.7% in August, as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Bjorn Jarvis, ABS Head of Labour Statistics, noted that despite an increase in employment by approximately 65,000 individuals, the unemployment rate remained unchanged as the number of unemployed only decreased slightly, by around 3,000 people.
There was a significant rise in employment in August, following a minor decline in July, which coincided with the school holiday period. The average employment growth over the past two months was about 32,000 people per month, aligning with the average growth over the past year.
The employment-to-population ratio rose by 0.1 percentage point to 64.5%, nearly matching the record high in June. The participation rate also saw an increase, reaching a record high of 67.0% in August. These figures, together with the high employment-to-population ratio, indicate a tight labour market.
However, monthly hours worked decreased by 0.5% in August 2023, even though employment rose by 0.5%. Despite a slight fall in August, hours worked were 3.7% higher than in August 2022, indicating faster growth than the annual 3.0% increase in employment.
Despite the recent increase in the underutilisation rate, it remains significantly below the 14.0% recorded in March 2020. The last time it was this low before the pandemic was in September 2008.
In terms of trend data, the unemployment rate remained at 3.7%, in line with the updated figure for July. Employment grew by around 28,000 people (0.2%), and hours worked increased by 0.2% in August. Over the past year, employment has risen by 2.9%, and hours worked by 4.6%.
The underemployment rate rose by less than 0.1 percentage point to 6.5%, reaching its highest level in 18 months. Despite this, all key indicators still point to a tight labour market.
