Australia: Lockdowns hit Australia’s labor market in September
Seasonally-adjusted employment fell by a sharp 138,000 in September, following 146,300 jobs shred in August. September’s result was driven by a decrease in part-time employment more than offsetting an increase in full-time employment.
Meanwhile, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate inched up to 4.6% in September, from August’s 4.5%, which had marked the lowest reading since November 2008 and was markedly down from the 7.4% peak reached in July 2020. Moreover, the participation rate dropped to 64.5% from August’s 65.2%. However, the seasonally-adjusted underemployment ticked down from 9.3% in August to 9.2%.