Australia’s Unemployment Rate Remains Steady at 3.7 Percent in August

Workers can be seen on a section of a new overpass being constructed in Albany, Western Australia, on Aug. 10, 2023. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times

Australia’s unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7 percent in August on the back of more jobs added to the economy, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Seasonally adjusted, the number of unemployed people totalled 540,500 in August, up 8.5 percent year over year but down 0.5 percent from the previous month. The participation rate was at 67 percent, as the total number of employed people increased to 14.11 million.

On a month-on-month basis, full-time employment jumped by 14,000 to 9.88 million, while part-time employment, which shared 29.9 percent of total employment, increased by 14,300 to 4.22 million.

“The large increase in employment in August came after a small drop in July, around the school holiday period. Looking over the past two months, the average employment growth was around 32,000 people per month, which is similar to the average growth over the past year,” Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics, said on Sept. 14.

In addition, the ABS saw monthly hours worked in all jobs increase by 3.7 percent annually but slide 0.5 percent from the previous month to 1.94 billion in August.

“The strength in hours worked over the past year, relative to employment growth, shows the demand for labour is continuing to be met by people working more hours, to some extent,” Mr. Jarvis said.

Meanwhile, underemployment was at 6.6 percent in August, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month and up 0.6 percentage points from the same month a year ago. The employment-to-population ratio remained around 64.5 percent for the fifth consecutive month.

“In trend terms, all key indicators still point to a tight labour market,” Mr. Jarvis said.

The Liberal government said that the August employment statistics mask the real struggles of Australians as they work hard to survive amid the increasing cost of living.

“Australians are working more hours and taking on additional jobs to pay the bills in Labor’s cost of living crisis,” Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said. “With collapsing labour productivity, a GDP per capita recession, and falling real wages, Australians are working more for less under this government.”

Industrial Reforms Causing Confusion

Shadow Minister for Employment Senator Michaelia Cash also noted that the Albanese government’s proposed industrial relations reforms are also causing confusion among business owners, thus affecting their decision to hire and therefore impacting the country’s employment situation.

“I know that small businesses are very worried about the implications of the latest proposed laws, particularly how they might affect casual workers,” Ms. Cash said.

“Small business is confused by this complex legislation, but they do know there will be extreme risks for them. This is not how a Government helps the job creators of the nation expand and innovate. This legislation will strangle businesses,” the senator added.

On the same day, the Business Council of Australia (BCA) expressed its frustration over the proposed reforms, which according to the head of the lobby group, will be hard to comply with.

“The government indicated businesses would have more than 12 months to get ready for the changes in the bill. The reality is that with the retrospectivity in this bill, it is already affecting businesses’ hiring decisions for fear they will be breaking a law that does not even exist,” BCA CEO Bran Black said.

“As we have said consistently, these proposals introduce unnecessary complexity and confusion into our workplace relations system at precisely the wrong time, with businesses big and small facing extremely challenging conditions,” he added.