The ABS has released its labour market report for December, which shows a strong increase in jobs as well as a 0.2% decline in the headline unemployment rate to 6.6%:
Key statistics
Seasonally adjusted estimates for December 2020:
Unemployment rate decreased to 6.6%.
Participation rate increased to 66.2%.
Employment increased to 12,910,800.
Employment to population ratio increased to 61.8%.
Underemployment rate decreased to 8.5%.
Monthly hours worked increased by 2 million hours.
The number of people employed has almost caught up with pre-COVID levels:
As have hours worked:
Although unemployment remains elevated; albeit much improved from the peak in July:
I’ll be back later with the detailed monthly report.
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
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