Australia’s unemployment rate remained at 4.7 per cent in September, after August’s jobless rate was revised upwards.<\/p>\n
It means the national unemployment rate remains at its highest level in the post-COVID era, in seasonally adjusted terms.<\/p>\n
An estimated 39,300 fewer Australians were in work last month, and the number of officially unemployed people increased by 8,900.<\/p>\n
Inflation lower than expected<\/a><\/p>\n The odds of the Reserve Bank lifting interest rates in November have fallen sharply after the latest consumer price index (CPI) came in lower than expected, with headline inflation up 4 per cent in the year to August.<\/p>\n The participation rate, which is the proportion of people in work or actively looking for work, also fell, to 66.8 per cent from 67 per cent.<\/p>\n It means the average unemployment rate in the September quarter was 4.63 per cent, well above (and ahead of) the Reserve Bank’s forecast of 4.5 per cent<\/a> for the December quarter this year.<\/p>\n The Bureau of Statistics data show that, in trend terms, things remained steady last month.<\/p>\n The trend unemployment rate remained at 4.6 per cent (with no upward revision), the participation rate held at 66.9 per cent, hours worked remained steady, and the employment-to-population ratio held at 63.8 per cent.<\/p>\n What do economists say?<\/p>\n BDO chief economist Anders Magnusson said the data suggested the RBA’s restrictive monetary policy and slow economic growth were beginning to flow more clearly into the labour market.<\/p>\n “Last month, unemployment increased because more people entered the labour force than found jobs,” he said.<\/p>\n “This month is different. Employment declined and fewer people participated in the labour market, pointing to weaker labour demand rather than stronger labour supply.<\/p>\n