Australia's Unemployment Rate Dips to 3.9 Percent

Canberra, Dec 12 (NationPress) The unemployment rate in Australia experienced a decline in November, contrary to the forecasts made by economists, according to official statistics.

As per the monthly labour force data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday, the official unemployment rate stood at 3.9 percent in November, down from 4.1 percent in October, marking the lowest level since March, as reported by Xinhua news agency.

Reports from News Corp Australia indicated that economists had anticipated an increase in unemployment to 4.2 percent.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) had previously stated in November that it expected the unemployment rate to rise to 4.3 percent by the close of 2024.

However, the ABS reported on Thursday that the number of employed individuals in Australia rose by 35,600 between October and November, while the number of unemployed decreased by 27,000 during the same timeframe.

The economy saw a gain of 52,600 full-time jobs between October and November, although this was somewhat counterbalanced by a decrease in part-time employment of 17,000.

David Taylor, head of labour statistics at the ABS, stated, "In November, we observed an atypical number of individuals transitioning into employment after being unemployed and awaiting job commencement in October. This led to the increase in employment and decrease in unemployment."

In response to the data, Treasurer Jim Chalmers expressed on social media that the government’s strategies are facilitating a soft landing for the economy.

The participation rate, which gauges the proportion of the working-age populace that is either employed or actively seeking employment, slightly decreased from 67.1 percent in October to 67.0 percent in November.