MNI BRIEF: Aussie Unemployment At 4.2%, Job Creation Strong
MNI (MELBOURNE) - Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in July, up 20 basis points over June and 10bp higher than anticipated, while over 58,000 jobs were created, almost 40,000 more than market expectations.
Over 60,000 fulltime jobs were created last month, while part-time employment decreased by 2,300. The participation rate also grew to 67.1% from 66.9%.
“The employment-to-population ratio rose by 0.1 percentage point to 64.3%, indicating employment growth was faster than population growth, and was just below the historical high of 64.4% in November 2023,” said Kate Lamb, head of labour statistics at the ABS.
“Although the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 pp in each of the past two months, the record high participation rate and near record high employment-to-population ratio shows that there continues to be a high number of people in jobs, and looking for and finding jobs.”
The Reserve Bank of Australia board discussed hiking the cash rate at its most recent meeting. (See MNI RBA WATCH: Board Holds, Shrugs Off Market Volatility)