Employee Relations

Australia’s unemployment rate remains flat at current level of 4%

As per the new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), unemployment has dropped by around 12,000 people but approximately still remains flat at 4% Market expectations largely expected the unemployment rate to drop below 4% to around 3.9% and apparently that hasn’t happened yet.

The last time the unemployment rate was lower was 48 years ago in November 1974 when it was 3.7 per cent.

Bjorn Jarvis, Head of Labour statistics at ABS has said that despite remaining flat, this month's figures were the lowest seen since the agency started surveying the Australian public on a monthly basis.

"With employment increasing by 18,000 people and unemployment falling by 12,000, the unemployment rate decreased slightly in March, though it remained at 4.0 per cent in rounded terms," he added.

The incumbent Morrison Government has maintained in their manifesto the premise that their policies would deliver an unemployment rate "with a three in front of it", with unemployment rate for women dropping more quickly than of men.

"The unemployment rate for women fell from 3.8 per cent to 3.7 per cent, the lowest it has been since May 1974," Jarvis noted.

"It remained at 4.2 per cent for men, its second lowest level since November 2008 and just above the rate from December 2021 of 4.1 per cent."

It would be interesting to see if the graph plateaus to a certain extent or has any chance to pick up the trail.

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