Overview
- Official ABS data show net employment fell by 23,100 in November, including a 56,500 decline in full-time positions.
- The unemployment rate held at 4.3% as the participation rate eased to 66.7% and total hours worked were flat.
- Annual employment growth slowed to 1.3%, down from 3.5% earlier in the year and now below roughly 2% population growth.
- Underemployment rose to 6.2% in November, while Roy Morgan’s broader measure estimates 3.34 million Australians are jobless or underemployed, about 21% of the workforce.
- The RBA kept the cash rate at 3.6% this week and is weighing a hold versus a possible hike, as markets trimmed the Australian dollar and priced higher odds of rate increases after mixed labour readings.