Australia adds 21,600 jobs in December, jobless rate drops to 5.0%

The Australian unemployment rate dropped to 5.0 percent in December, even as the economy added 21,600 jobs, the latest data published by the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed this Thursday. The markets were expecting a job addition of 16,500.  Employment for the previous month was 37,000 addition.

Meanwhile, full-time jobs came in at -3,000 compared to -6,400 seen in November. The part-time employment rose 24,600 versus 43,400 last. The participation rate slipped to 65.6% in the reported month versus 65.7% previous.

Dec Key Points (Source: ABS)

Employment increased 23,100 to 12,711,600. Full-time employment increased 11,800 to 8,697,600 and part-time employment increased 11,200 to 4,014,000.

Unemployment decreased 3,200 to 670,900.

The unemployment rate remained steady at 5.0%.

Participation rate remained steady at 65.6%.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs increased 1.1 million hours to 1759.9 million hours.

Seasonally adjusted estimates (Monthly change)

Employment increased 21,600 to 12,714,100. Full-time employment decreased 3,000 to 8,678,800 and part-time employment increased 24,600 to 4,035,300.

Unemployment decreased 14,100 to 666,700.

Unemployment rate decreased 0.1 percentage points (pts) to 5.0%.

Participation rate decreased by less than 0.1 pts to 65.6%.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs increased 1.3 million hours to 1758.9 million hours.