Thursday 7th October 2010

New jobs appear, but unemployment rate sticks

by Alan Thornhill

Australia’s unemployment rate stuck at at 5.1 per cent last month, even though 49,500 new jobs appeared in that time.

The Bureau of Statistics said the rise in employment was driven by a seasonally adjusted increase of 55,800 in full-time jobs.

But part-time employment fell by 6,300.

The Bureau also reported the workforce participation rate in September increased 0.2 percentage points to 65.6 per cent.

Overall, this is a picture of a strengthening labour market, which is encouraging people to seek – and often find – jobs.

Australia’s total employment has been rising steeply since November last year.

The nation’s unemployment rate has also fallen substantially since then.

The government had been hoping that the nation’s unemployment rate would have dropped below 5 per cent by now.

Oddly, perhaps, the main reason that this did not happen is that the nation’s work-force has expanded, as its economy improved.

The Bureau counts both people who have work – and those who are actively looking for a job – as part of the nation’s work force.

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Alan Thornhill is a parliamentary press gallery journalist.
Private Briefing is updated daily with Australian personal finance news, analysis, and commentary.

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