The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released labour force data for the month of September, which recorded a fall in the headline unemployment rate to a seasonally-adjusted 5.6%, down from 5.8% in September. The result beat expectations, with analysts forecasting unemployment to remain steady at 5.8% (see below table).
The positive headline result was flattered somewhat by the 0.1% decline in the participation rate.
Overall employment rose by 9,100, with full-time jobs rising by 5,000 to to 8,133,700 and part-time employment increased 4,100 to 3,512,100. However, aggregate monthly hours worked dropped by 6.4 million hours to 1,641.5 million hours.
So overall, it looks like a mildly positive report. I’ll be back later this afternoon with my usual detailed analysis.
