Australia's Jobless and Underemployed Fall 106,000 to 3.27 Million as Part-Time Work Hits 5.31 Million
Updated
Updated · roymorgan.com · May 12
Australia's Jobless and Underemployed Fall 106,000 to 3.27 Million as Part-Time Work Hits 5.31 Million
2 articles · Updated · roymorgan.com · May 12
3.274 million Australians were unemployed or under-employed in April, down 106,000 from March, with labour under-utilisation easing to 20.3% of the workforce.
The drop came as unemployment fell 58,000 to 1.635 million and under-employment slipped 48,000 to 1.639 million, cutting the rates to 10.1% and 10.2% respectively.
Employment still weakened for a second straight month, down 36,000 to 14.456 million, because a 225,000 fall in full-time jobs outweighed a 189,000 rise in part-time roles.
Part-time employment reached a record 5.311 million, while the overall workforce shrank 94,000 to 16.091 million, indicating the lower jobless rate was driven partly by fewer people in the labour force.
Despite April's improvement, more than 3 million Australians have been unemployed or under-employed for 17 straight months, underscoring a still-weak labour market in Roy Morgan's view.
As full-time jobs vanish, is Australia's labour market truly improving or just becoming more insecure?
Can the government's budget stimulus revive the economy without triggering more painful interest rate hikes?