MNI 5 THINGS. Australia Unemployment Surprises, Uptick To 5.1%

By Lachlan Colquhoun

     SYDNEY (MNI) - Australia's November Labour Force Data was published

Thursday, with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate 0.1% higher at 5.1%,

surprising analyst forecasts to the upside.

     Here are five points of interest from the release by the Australian Bureau

of Statistics.

Unemployment in surprise increase. 

     Financial markets had been expecting the unemployment rate to be unchanged

at the decade low  5.0%. The rate began the year at 5.5% and the November data

released today is the first time the rate has increased on a monthly basis in

2018.

Participation rate rise also surprises. 

     The rise in the overall rate was due to a surprise increase in the

participation rate. The market had been expecting a fall in the participation

rate to align with recent trends, but it moved 0.2% higher to 65.7% and was a

key factor in the overall unemployment rate increase.

Employment now at a record high. 

     The data showed that employment is now at 12.69 million, a national record.

Although the unemployment rate increased by 0.1% in November, employment

increased by 37,000, with the rise due to gains in part time and not full time

employment.

Full time employment growth runs out of momentum. 

     Strong Labour Force data this year has been powered by a growth in full

time employment, but today's data reversed the trend. Since January the number

of people in full time employment has increased by 182,900 and reached 8.7

million in October. In that time the number in part time employment has fallen

by 8600 to 3.9 million. Today's data showed that part time employment increased

by 43,400 over November, while the number in full time employment fell by 6400.

Queensland creating more jobs. 

     Queensland has suffered the highest unemployment rate of all States and

Territories as the economy struggled with the impacts of drought, but today's

data showed that employment there increased by 21,800 in November. A higher

participation rate, however, saw the unemployment rate for Queensland increase

0.1% to 6.4%. It was the opposite story in NSW, where employment fell by 12,600

but a significantly lower participation rate saw the overall figure fall 0.1% to

a decade low 4.4%.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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