Australia's Unemployment Rate Rises To 3.7 Percent

Australia’s unemployment rate has increased from 3.5 percent to 3.7 percent in seasonally adjusted terms, adding 22,000 more unemployed people across the country. 

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), employment decreased to 13,721,900 in January.  

Bjorn Jarvis, Head of Labour Statistics at the ABS, said there was a “larger-than-usual" increase in unemployed people. Much of that rise in unemployment was driven by a seasonal fluctuation. 

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“January is the most seasonal time of the year in the Australian labour market, with people leaving jobs but also getting ready to start new jobs or return from leave,” he said. 

Jim Chalmers, Treasurer of Australia, said the outcome is completely consistent with what the budget anticipated in October. 

Full-time employment has decreased by 43,300 to 9,567,800 people, while the number of part-time employees increased by 31,800 to 4,154,100 people. 

“This is the expected outcome, the expected consequence of global turbulence and rising interest rates playing out in our economy,” Mr Chalmers said. 

The data revealed that the monthly hours worked decreased by 2.1 per cent, making early January the seasonal peak for people to take annual leave. 

“Around 43 per cent of employed people worked reduced or no hours because they were on leave, compared with around 41 per cent of employed people over the same period before the pandemic,” Mr Jarvis said. 

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