Australia’s unemployment drops in May

Australia’s unemployment dropped in the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate by 0.1 per cent to 4.0 per cent in May.

On the other hand, employment increased by approximately 40,000 people, while the number of unemployed dropped by 9,000. This decline in unemployment is partly attributed to individuals returning to work after a temporary hiatus in April. Despite the decrease, there were still around 600,000 unemployed individuals, though this figure is nearly 110,000 fewer than in March 2020, just before the pandemic hit.

Moreover, the employment-to-population ratio and participation rate remained steady at 64.1 per cent and 66.8 per cent, respectively, indicating a resilient labour market compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics, noted that while the job market remains relatively tight, it has eased compared to late 2022 and early 2023, with elevated levels of job vacancies persisting.

Attribution: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data.