RBA breathe sigh of relief as seasonally adjusted unemployment nudges lower

RBA breathe sigh of relief as seasonally adjusted unemployment nudges lower
Joel RobinsonDecember 7, 2020

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped from 5.3 per cent to 5.2 per cent in September, according to figures released today by the ABS.

Seasonally adjusted employment increased by 14,700 people to 12,944,000.

The underlying composition of the net change was an increase of 26,200 people in full-time employment and a decrease of 11,400 people in part-time employment.

Since September 2018, full-time employment increased by 191,700 people, while part-time employment increased by 119,900 people.

Australia's trend unemployment rate however remained at 5.3 per cent, in line with economic forecasts.

Alex Joiner, economist at IFM, says the positive figures might buy the RBA some time if the third quarter CPI doesn't disappoint later this month.

New South Wales saw its unemployment rate tick up from 4.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent, while Victoria's dropped from 4.9 per cent to 4.7 per cent.

RBA breathe sigh of relief as seasonally adjusted unemployment nudges lower

The biggest mover in September was South Australia, whose soaring unemployment rate dropped from 7.3 per cent to 6.3 per cent.

Over the past year, trend employment increased by about 300,000 people (2.4 per cent), which continued to be above the average annual growth over the past 20 years (two per cent).

Full-time employment increased by 2.1 per cent and part-time employment increased by 2.9 per cent over the past year.

Joel Robinson

Joel Robinson is a property journalist based in Sydney. Joel has been writing about the residential real estate market for the last five years, specializing in market trends and the economics and finance behind buying and selling real estate.

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