Australia’s unemployment rate falls to 4.9% in June

However, underemployment crept up by 0.5% to 7.9% as the economy responded to lockdowns in the states of Victoria and New South Wales.
By: | July 19, 2021
Topics: Australia | Health and Wellness | Job Cuts | News

Australia’s unemployment rate fell by 0.2% to 4.9% in June, adding 29,100 jobs in the month, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

However, underemployment crept up by 0.5% to 7.9% as the economy responded to pandemic-led lockdowns in the states of Victoria and New South Wales.

In June, 33m fewer hours were logged, a fall of 1.8% led by a loss of 40m hours in Victoria. “Hours worked in Victoria fell by 8.4% in June, compared with a 0.3% fall in employment,” said Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS. 

“This highlights the extent to which people in Victoria had reduced hours or no work through the lockdown, without necessarily losing their jobs,” he added. 

States with short or no lockdowns registered employment growth, including Tasmania (1%), Western Australia (0.9%) and Queensland (0.6%).

READ: Australian state offers financial aid to businesses amid lockdown

Meanwhile, jobs were lost in  the Northern Territory (-3.9%), the Australian Capital Territory (-2.5%), South Australia (-0.5%), Victoria (-0.3%) and New South Wales (-0.2%).

Youth employment fell by 0.5% to 10.2%, which is 1.4% below the rate at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.