Australia Unemployment Rate

Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate unexpectedly edged down to 4.5% in August 2021 from 4.6% in June and compared with market consensus of 4.9%. This was the tenth straight month of fall in the jobless rate and the lowest reading since November 2008, as the economy recovered further from the COVID-19 hit. The number of unemployed declined 21,900 to 617.1 thousand, as people looking for full-time work decreased 24,500 to 413,500, while those looking for only part-time added 2,700 to 203,600. Meantime, employment fell 146,300 to 13.02 million, worse than forecasts of a 90,000 decline, with full-time employment decreasing 6,800. and part-time employment declining 78,200. The participation rate was down 0.8 points to 65.2 percent, below estimates of 65.7. The underemployment rate rose 1.0 points to 9.3 percent, and the underutilization rate gained 0.9 points to 13.8 percent. Monthly hours worked in all jobs dropped 66 million, or 3.7 percent, to 1,714 million hours.