AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Summary
- The Australian Bureau of Statistics has pegged the unemployment rate at 6.6% for December 2020.
- The next few months will be crucial for the economy as the Federal Government will cease running numerous stimulus payments and policy support.
A broad recovery in the labour market continued in December as Australia added 50,000 new jobs to the market. It speaks volumes about the economy's recovery after the Government began easing lockdowns.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said full-time employment level was 1.3% below March 2020, but part-time employment was higher than March. In December, employed people were 80K lesser in number than March levels. The labour market data suggests that the market had been in momentum towards the end of the year.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate fell to 6.6%, which marks a yearly change of 1.5 pts. Over the previous month, the rate was down 0.2 pts. The participation rate for December was 66.2%, up 0.2 pts from a year earlier.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
Consumer sentiment also depicted substantial improvement in unemployment expectation over the last few months. Since the lockdown in Melbourne was lifted, labour markets have continued a broader jobs recovery.
For January, Westpac MI Consumer Sentiment index moderated 4.5% to 107 against 112 in the previous month.
Source: Westpac
In March last year, the unemployment rate was forecast to hit double-digit figure, but the country managed to contain the infection spread successfully at the beginning of the global outbreak, which forced billions to lockdowns shortly.
The government’s effective infection control measures at the beginning enabled policymakers to consider easing lockdowns from May 2020. Job Keeper assistance from the Government has not only worked in favour of workers but also corporates due to subsidised wage bills.