Unemployment rises to 6.0%

The ABS has just released their unemployment estimate for January, which recorded a 0.2% rise in the headline unemployment rate to 6.0%.

The total number of jobs in the economy fell by a seasonally adjusted 7,900 to 11,894,500, with full-time employment decreasing by 40,600 to 8,185,800, partly offset by a 32,700 increase in part-time jobs to 3,708,700.

The labour force participation rate remained steady at 65.2%, whereas monthly hours worked rose by a seasonally adjusted 10.9 million hours to 1,656.0 million hours.

The overall result missed analyst’s expectations of a steady unemployment rate and the creation of 15,000 new jobs.

I’ll report back with my usual detailed report shortly.