Australia: Unemployment rate ticks up in August
Seasonally-adjusted employment increased by 33,500 in August, following 40,900 jobs shed in July. August’s result was driven by an increase in full-time employment more than offsetting a decline in part-time employment.
Meanwhile, the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate inched up to 3.5% in August from July’s record-low of 3.4%. Moreover, the participation rate rose to 66.6% from the previous month’s 66.4%, and the seasonally-adjusted underemployment rate declined to 5.9% in August from 6.0% in July.
Commenting on the short-term outlook, Lee Sue Ann, economist at UOB, stated:
“Overall, the Australian labor market remains solid, although slowing growth will likely push the jobless rate higher back towards the 3.8%-4.0% levels. Wage growth is also expected to pick up to over 3.0% by 2023..”