Australia’s unemployment rate increased slightly to 4.1% in June from 4% in May, despite the addition of 50,000 jobs, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
ABS spokesperson Bjorn Jarvis said the rise in unemployment was primarily due to a small increase in the number of Australians either working or actively seeking work.
“The participation rate in June was only 0.1 percentage point lower than the historical high of 67.0% in November 2023,” he said (see image).
“The employment-to-population ratio rose by 0.1 percentage point to 64.2%, which was also close to its historical high of 64.4% in November 2023.”
These labour statistics, along with the June quarter inflation data, will be key topics of discussion for the Reserve Bank of Australia’s upcoming meeting on 5-6 August, where they will decide on the official interest rate.
