Australia: Labor market closes 2018 on a strong note
Seasonally-adjusted employment increased by 21,600 in December from the previous month, following the revised 39,000 jobs added in November (previously reported: +37,000 jobs) and overshooting analysts’ expectations for a gain of 16,500. December’s reading was driven by healthy increases of both part-time and full-time workers.
Seasonally-adjusted unemployment inched down from November’s 5.1 to 5.0% in December. Moreover, the seasonally-adjusted underemployment rate inched down from the previous month in December. On the other hand, December saw a decrease in the seasonally-adjusted participation rate, which inched down from 65.7% in November to 65.6%.