Roy Morgan unemployment tumbles

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From Roy Morgan late yesterday:

In May 2012 according to Roy Morgan:

Unemployment was 8.2% (down 1.1% since April 2012) — an estimated 997,000 Australians were unemployed and looking for work.

A further 9% of the workforce* (up 0.8%) were working part-time looking for more work (underemployed) — 1,107,000 Australians.

In total 17.2% (down 0.3%) of the workforce, or 2.1 million Australians, were unemployed or underemployed.

The Australian workforce* in May was at 12,213,000, (down from 12,307,000 in April, 2012 but up 331,000 since May 2011) — comprising 7,801,000 full-time workers (down 150,000 since May 2011); 4,412,000 part-time workers (up 481,000 since May 2011) and 997,000 looking for work (up 179,000 since May 2011).

The latest Roy Morgan unemployment estimate of 8.2% is now 3.3% above the 4.9% currently quoted by the ABS for April 2012.

So, the great discrepancy between RM and ABS unemployment is beginning to resolve favourably. However, the still very elevated underemployment figure continues to show a labour market in deep flux. Moreover, this is the seasonal pattern that the RM figures show, with a big bounce in the new year as school leavers hit the market then falls as they find jobs. Despite this pattern, the relative levels remain much higher than last year and something akin to 2002.

Still, some encouragement.

About the author
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.