Australia’s unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1% in April, despite a sharp increase in employment that saw 89,000 people enter the workforce, according to fresh data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The jobless rate matched economist expectations, but the addition of 89,000 new jobs far outpaced the forecast of a 20,000 rise.
Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics noted: “With employment increasing by 89,000 people and the number of unemployed increasing by 6,000 people, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1% for April.”
The strong growth lifted the employment-to-population ratio by 0.3 percentage points to 64.4%, just shy of the record 64.5% set in January.
Despite the hiring surge, the number of unemployed people rose by 6,000 as the total labour force grew by 95,000. This also pushed the participation rate up to 67.1%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points.
The labour market update comes just days before the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) next monetary policy decision, due on 20 May.
According to the ASX's RBA Rate Tracker, as of 14 May, there is a 51% probability that the RBA will lower the cash rate to 3.60% at its upcoming meeting, based on current pricing.
