MNI INTERVIEW: Aus Labour Market Rebound "Remarkable"-ABS

The head of labour data at the Australian Bureau of Statistics told MNI that the country’s jobs market was “strong and tightening” after February recorded the lowest unemployment rate since 2008.

February unemployment was 4.0%, equal to the rate in both February and August 2008, while the participation rate of 66.2% was the highest on record for the whole market, and for women at 62.4%.

HISTORY LESSON

‘If you want to find unemployment at lower than 4.0% you must go back before the monthly series, and back to 1974,” said Bjorn Jarvis from the ABS in an interview.

‘The participation rate is now 0.6pps higher than at the start the pandemic for all persons, and 1.2pps higher for women.’

RESERVE BANK WATCHING

Thursday's labour force data will be carefully noted by the Reserve Bank of Australia, which sees full employment as the driver for the wages' growth it needs to justify the timing of an increase in interest rates from the record low 0.10%.

WAGES GROWTH THE KEY

Despite falling unemployment, wages growth has been flat and is growing at 2.3%, lower than underlying inflation of 2.6%, see: MNI INTERVIEW: RBA's Harper Says Wages Need 4% Growth.

Jarvis said the February labour force data was also significant because of the rise in full time employment, with 122,000 positions added, while part time work fell by 44,000.

“There was also an 8.9% rebound in hours worked and that underpins the stronger full-time result,’ he said.

‘The remarkable thing through the pandemic is how quickly the labour market has rebounded and restrictions and we are still seeing that.”