Australia: Labor market adds some new jobs in September
Seasonally-adjusted employment increased by 5,600 in September compared to the previous month, following the revised 44,600 jobs added in August (previously reported: +44,000 jobs) and undershooting analysts’ expectations for a gain of 15,000. September’s reading was driven by an increase of full-time workers more than offsetting a decline in part-time workers.
Seasonally-adjusted unemployment dropped to an over six-year low of 5.0% in September from 5.3% in August. That said, the fall in unemployment was mainly attributable to a decline in the number of people actively looking for a job, as the seasonally-adjusted participation rate fell from 65.7% in August to 65.4% in September. On a more positive note, the seasonally-adjusted underutilization rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 13.3%, while the seasonally-adjusted underemployment rate was stable at August’s 8.3%. Adding to the good news, the vacancy rate hit multi-year high, which bodes well for wage growth going forward.