APRIL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 6.2% (Mar....>

AUSTRALIA DATA: APRIL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 6.2% (Mar 5.2%), APRIL PEOPLE EMPLOYED

-594,000

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--Australian Bureau of Statistics. "The large drop in employment did not

translate into a similar sized rise in the number of unemployed people because

around 489,800 people left the labour force".

--Unemployment increased by 104,500 people to 823,300, and the unemployment rate

increased by 1.0ppfrom 5.2 per cent to 6.2 per cent.

--Participation fell rate by 2.4 percentage points to 63.5 per cent.

--The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hours worked was also extensive. Total

hours worked fell by around 9.2 per cent between March and April.

--Around 2.7 million people (about 1 in 5 people employed in March) either left

employment or had their hours reduced between March and April.

--Underemployed people also rose sharply, up 603,300 people to a total of 1.8

million people). Underemployment rate rose to a record high 13.7%, up 4.9pps.

--Underutilisation rate rose to a record high of 19.9 per cent.