Australia's Employment Recovers By 114.7k; Hours Worked Up 1.3% M/M

The ABS comments on Australia's labour market statistics:

• The July figures indicate that employment had recovered by 343,000 people and hours worked had also recovered 5.5 per cent since May. Employment remained over half a million people lower than seen in March, while hours worked remained 5.5 per cent lower.
• The number of unemployed people rose by nearly 16,000 between June and July. For the first time there were more than one million people out of work, available to work and actively looking for work.
• The July data provides insight into the Australian labour market during Stage 3 restrictions in Victoria. The August Labour Force data will provide the first indication of the impact of Stage 4 restrictions.
• Lower paid jobs and industries were particularly impacted by COVID-19 restrictions, accounting for a high share of jobs lost. This fall in lower paid jobs led to an increase in average earnings for all employees because the remaining jobs had a higher earnings profile. In recent years, the six-monthly increase in average earnings for all employees has been around 1 per cent. The 3.8 per cent increase to mid-May highlights the extent of the major compositional change in jobs and earnings during this difficult period.