Australia’s unemployment rate experienced a slight increase in January, rising by 0.1 percentage points to 4.1%, as reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Despite this rise, employment grew by 44,000 individuals, while the number of unemployed rose by 23,000. In trend terms, the unemployment rate stayed steady at 4.0%.
The jump in unemployment is attributed to a greater number of individuals waiting to start or return to work, particularly in January. Economists had anticipated that wage growth and the recent cash rate decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia would help maintain stable job figures.
Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, noted that the increase in both employment and unemployment caused the participation rate to rise by 0.1 percentage points, reaching a record high of 67.3%. This figure is significantly higher than both the previous year and pre-pandemic levels.
The unemployment rate has been on a gradual upward trend since mid-2022, reflecting ongoing economic adjustments. The RBA had projected an average unemployment rate of approximately 4.3% during this period, indicating slight deviations from expectations.