Australia: Unemployment rate drops back to 5.2% in September – ANZ

Catherine Birch, senior economist at ANZ, points out that Australia’s 14.7k rise in employment in September was the smallest in seven months, aside from the post-election correction in June.

Key Quotes

“The 0.1ppt fall in the participation rate to 66.1% meant that it was enough to bring the unemployment rate back down to 5.2%.”

“Full-time employment increased by 26.2k, more than making up the previous month’s loss, while part-time employment fell 11.4k.”

“The fall in the participation rate was entirely due to males, with the female participation rate holding steady at the record high of 61.2%. Yet the male unemployment rate actually increased to 5.4%, due to a 6.7k decline in employment, while the female unemployment rate dropped to 5.0% on the back of a solid 21.4k rise in employment.”

“Along with unemployment, the underemployment rate fell 0.2ppt to 8.3%, bringing underutilisation down to 13.5% from 13.8% in the previous month. However, it remains 0.5ppt higher than its February low of 13.0%. Still, the reduction in slack provides the RBA with some near-term breathing space and reduces the prospect of another rate cut as soon as November.”