Jobs tumble

ABS Labour Force delivers a part shocker for December.

• unemployment rate remained at 3.9%.
• participation rate decreased to 66.8%.
• employment decreased to 14,201,100.
• employment to population ratio decreased to 64.2%.
• underemployment rate remained at 6.5%.
• monthly hours worked decreased to 1,926 million.
• full-time employment decreased by 106,600 to 9,791,200 people.
• part-time employment increased by 41,400 to 4,409,900 people.

Obviously, the falling participation rate stopped the UE rate from climbing as hiring collapsed.

Perhaps most concerning is the trend in hours worked, which has been falling for the better part of a year:

Falling hours and jobs are being met by a deluge of economic migrants:

Both underemployment and unemployment are going materially higher in due course:

And wages growth is going lower.

Albo, the worker’s champion, has fixed the terrible crisis of full employment.