Australia: Labor market continues to outperform expectations in October
Seasonally-adjusted employment surged by 178,800 in October, contrasting a revised 42,500 jobs loss in September (previously reported: -29,500). October’s result was driven by a jump in both part-time and full-time employment. Analysts had expected employment to fall by 30,000.
Meanwhile, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate inched up to 7.0% in October, from September’s 6.9%, again beating market expectations of a 7.2% unemployment rate. Moreover, the participation rate rose from 64.9% in September to 65.8% in October. Additionally, the seasonally-adjusted underemployment rate fell from September’s 11.4% to 10.4%.