Yahoo Finance Unemployment rate holds steady at 3.5%
53,000 Aussies found work in March, the latest jobs data revealed.
The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.5 per cent in March, the lowest it has been in nearly 50 years.
More than 53,000 jobs were estimated to have been added to the Australian economy last month, according to the latest data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), down from 65,000 new jobs in the previous month.
“With employment increasing by around 53,000 people, and the number of unemployed decreasing by 1,600 people, the unemployment rate remained at a near-50-year low of 3.5 per cent,” ABS head of labour statistics Lauren Ford said.
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“In line with the increase in employment, the employment-to-population ratio increased 0.1 percentage point to 64.4 per cent, with the participation rate remaining at 66.7 per cent.
“Both indicators were close to their historical highs in November 2022, reflecting a tight labour market and explaining why employers are finding it hard to fill the high number of job vacancies.”
The Reserve Bank will be looking at the jobs data as part of its decision to impose another rate rise or pause rates again when it meets next month.
Aussies working more
Monthly hours worked fell by 0.2 per cent in March, following a strong 3.8 per cent increase in February.
“Over the past 12 months, hours worked has increased 5.5 per cent, outpacing the 3.3 per cent increase in employment. Since March 2020, hours worked have increased 8.4 per cent, compared to a 7.0 per cent increase in employment,” Ford said.
"The strength in hours worked relative to employment shows the high level of demand for labour, to some extent, is being absorbed by people working more hours.”
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