Seasonally adjusted employment and hours worked. Source : Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics have confirmed that unemployment rates in Australia have remained at 3.5 per cent between November and December figures.
Head of labour statistics at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Lauren Ford, said the unemployment rate has remained stead over the past few months.
“With employment decreasing by around 15,000 people, and the number of unemployed increasing by 6,000 people, the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.5 per cent.” Ms Ford said.
“The seasonally adjusted participation rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 66.6 per cent in December, back to around where it was in October.
“Despite this slight fall from its historic high, it finished the year 0.8 percentage points higher than its pre-pandemic level.” She said.
The data found that seasonally adjusted employment decreased by 0.1 per cent in December 2022, which followed an increase of 58,000 people in November.
There was also an average monthly growth of around 40,000 people between August and November 2022.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also found that seasonally adjusted monthly hours work decreased by 0.5 per cent for the second month in a row.
Ms Ford said this decrease follows the period of growth seen in 2022.
“The falls in employment and hours worked in December followed strong growth through 2022, with an annual employment growth rate of 3.4 per cent and hours worked increasing by 3.2 per cent.” Ms Ford said.
The strong employment growth through 2022, along with high participation and low unemployment continues to reflect a tight labour market.
“In December, we saw the number of people working reduced hours due to illness increasing by 86,000 to 606,000, which is over 50 per cent higher than we would usually see at this time of the year.” She said.
Seasonally adjusted underemployment rate also rose by 0.2 percentage points, bringing it to 6.1 per cent.
