Australian unemployment to rebound with immigration

The latest labour force data from the ABS revealed that Australia’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since 1974 at just 3.4% in October.

The underemployment rate also fell to only 5.9% – close to its lowest level since 2008. Whereas the combined labour underutilisation rate fell to its lowest level since 1982 at just 9.3%.

A key reason why Australia’s unemployment /underemployment rates have plummeted is because Australia lost hundreds of thousands of migrants over the pandemic. Therefore, many of the jobs created went to unemployed Australians rather than migrant workers.

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About the author

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.