Australian Unemployment Falls to 10.8% in September, Underemployment Also Declines

Australia’s ‘real’ unemployment rate decreased to 10.8% in September, with 1,739,000 Australians unemployed, while underemployment also saw a significant drop, according to the latest Roy Morgan employment estimates released today.

The workforce grew by 66,000 to over 16 million (16,058,000), driven by a 103,000 increase in employment to 14,319,000. However, this growth was largely fueled by part-time jobs, which rose by 105,000 to 5,097,000, while full-time employment remained relatively stable at 9,222,000. Underemployment fell by 243,000 to 1,499,000, representing 9.3% of the workforce. This data provides a crucial snapshot of the labor market as the Albanese Government begins its second term.

The decline in unemployment was attributed to a decrease in part-time job seekers, down 57,000 to 1,044,000, while the number of people seeking full-time work increased by 20,000 to 695,000. Overall, 3.24 million Australians, or 20.1% of the workforce, were either unemployed or underemployed in September. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine noted, “The latest Roy Morgan employment estimates for September show overall Australian unemployment and under-employment dropping 280,000…Although this is a good sign, overall labour under-utilisation remains stuck above 3.2 million for a fourth straight month.” You can find more information about the Australian Bureau of Statistics and their labor force data here.

Comparing the data to September 2022, the Australian population aged 14+ has grown by 1,766,000, and the workforce by 1,151,000. Levine added that the movements in the Australian labor market were “the most positive since the re-election of the Albanese Government in early May.” Officials have indicated they will be closely monitoring these trends as they develop economic policy.