Australia: Unemployment rate rises in April
Seasonally-adjusted employment rose by 38,500 in April, following 5,900 jobs shed in March. April’s result was driven by an increase in part-time employment more than offsetting falling full-time employment.
The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.1% in April from 3.9% in March. Moreover, the seasonally-adjusted underemployment rose to 6.6% from March’s 6.5%. However, the participation rate ticked up to 66.7% from March’s 66.6%.
Commenting on the reading, ING’s Robert Carnell stated:
“Higher-than-forecast employment looks good, but the nature of that employment is questionable, and the unemployment rate has jumped higher – on balance, this looks slightly weaker than it first appears.”