The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported a significant improvement in the country's labour market on Thursday, with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate falling to an eight-month low of 3.9% in November 2024.
David Taylor, ABS head of labour statistics, explained the positive shift: "With employment rising by 36,000 people and the number of unemployed decreasing by 27,000 people, the unemployment rate fell to 3.9%.
"In November we saw a higher than usual number of people moving into employment who were unemployed and waiting to start work in October. This contributed to the rise in employment and fall in unemployment.”
Employment growth in November stood at 0.2%, consistent with the average monthly increase of 0.3% observed since mid-2024. This growth aligns with recent population trends.
The participation rate experienced a slight dip of 0.1 percentage point to 67.0% from the historic high of 67.1% recorded in September. However, Taylor noted that “Despite the fall, the participation rate was the same as a year ago”.
Hours worked and underemployment marked the first time in six months that hours worked growth did not match employment growth, with a marginal decrease in seasonally adjusted monthly hours worked.
The underemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 6.1%, which is 0.6 percentage points lower than November 2023 and 2.6 percentage points below March 2020 levels.
Taylor noted the continued tightness in the labour market: “Compared with outcomes before the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment and underemployment measures are still low, while trend employment and participation measures are around all-time highs. This suggests the labour market continues to be relatively tight.”
This latest data indicates a robust labour market in Australia, with unemployment rates reaching levels not seen in recent years and employment figures continuing to show positive growth.