AUS
NZ
UK
CA
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Summary
- Australia‘s unemployment rate continued its decline in the month of March, falling from 5.8% to 5.6%.
- The hours worked stood higher than that in March 2020, for the first time during the COVID-19 period.
- The latest numbers signal an improvement in labour market even as the A$90 billion JobKeeper program has ended, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
In what signals a rosier outlook for the country’s labour market, Australia’s unemployment rate fell from 5.8% to 5.6% in March. There were nearly 71,000 jobs added between February and March 2021 and the number of hours worked increased stood higher than that in March 2020. Interestingly, such an improvement was seen for the first time during the coronavirus period.
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The latest data hints at improvement in labour market with the A$90 billion JobKeeper program coming to an end, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Source: © Miluxian | Megapixl.com
Labour market improvement
While employment was up 0.6%, hours worked in March were up 1.2% over the corresponding month of last year. Commenting on the development, Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said that the latest data pointed towards improvement in the labour market in the last month.
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The proportion of women employment was also higher in March. However, the proportion of men employed remained marginally lower than pre-pandemic level.
Western Australia gains the most
Western Australia reported the strongest rise in employment (2.4%) and increase in hours worked (9.2%) across all states and territories.
Source: © Galinka86 | Megapixl.com
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JobKeeper program
The JobKeeper wage subsidy program introduced by the Australian government came to an end on 28 March 2021. According to the estimates by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), the wage subsidy program saved nearly 700,000 jobs. The RBA had also said that the employment casualties over the first half of last year could have doubled without the program.
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Highlights
Seasonally adjusted estimates for March 2021:
- Jobless rate fell to 5.6%.
- Participation rate rose to 66.3%.
- Employment surged to 13,077,600.
- Monthly hours worked surged by 38 million hours.
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