Victoria: the unemployed state

Tuesday 26 August 2025

The state of Victoria has the highest unemployment rate in the nation.

As illustrated below by Alex Joiner from IFM Investors, Victoria’s unemployment rate was 4.55% in July, 0.32% above the weighted average of the rest of the nation.

The next chart from CBA plots trend unemployment rates across the states and shows that Victoria’s unemployment rate of 4.5% is significantly higher than the other jurisdictions.

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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.