Unemployment edges down to 5pc despite a cooling economy

The Australian jobs market has defied cooling economic conditions, with the unemployment rate edging down to 5 per cent in December. A better than expected 21,600 new jobs were created, although the bulk of these were part-time positions with 3,000 full-time jobs being shed over the month.

5/14/2019 Unemployment edges down to 5pc despite a cooling economy - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-24/december-employment-and-unemployment-figures/10744278 1/2
PHOTO: A spurt in part-time employment leading up to
Christmas has helped push down unemployment.
(REUTERS: JASON REED)
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Key points:
Unemployment edges down to 5pc, its
lowest level since June 2011
Part-time employment growth
outpaced full time jobs, which fell by
3,000 over December.
Victoria has the lowest unemployment
rate at 4.2pc while WA has the highest
at 6.3pc
Unemployment edges down to 5pc despite a cool
economy
By business reporter Stephen Letts
Updated Thu 24 Jan 2019, 7:09am
The Australian jobs market has defied cooling economic conditions,
with the unemployment rate edging down to 5 per cent in December.
A better than expected 21,600 new jobs were created, although the bulk of
these were part-time positions with 3,000 full-time jobs being shed over the
month.
The unemployment rate was also help by a marginal slide in the proportion
of people looking for work, although participation rates still remain high by
historical standards.
In seasonally adjusted terms, it is the equal lowest level of unemployment
since June 2011.
"Over the past year, trend employment increased by 284,100 persons [2.3
per cent], which was above the average annual growth over the past 20
years [2 per cent]," the Australian Bureau of Statistics release noted.
Measures of spare capacity in the jobs market — underemployment and
underutilisation — also edged down.
IFM economist Alex Joiner said, while the data was "relatively solid", it was
unlikely to move the dial to increase wage growth.
"Labour market continued to track well to end 2018, but the spare capacity
issue is unresolved and it remains difficult to envisage materially stronger
wage growth in this environment — combined with other factors this will
likely see further tepid inflation data next week," Dr Joiner noted.
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream, ABS, ABC News
Australia: Unemployment Rate vs Employed Persons
Full time vs Part time workers
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 4.8%
5.0%
5.2%
5.4%
5.6%
5.8%
6.0%
6.2%
6.4%
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
-100
-50
0
50
100
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
EMPLOYED PERSONS UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (RH Scale)
: FULL TIME WORKERS; MoM change PART-TIME WORKERS: MoM change (RHS scale)
x 1,000
x 1,000x 1,000

5/14/2019 Unemployment edges down to 5pc despite a cooling economy - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-24/december-employment-and-unemployment-figures/10744278 2/2
EMBED: Jobs created and unemployment rate
Callam Pickering, Asia-Pacific economist for the global job website Indeed, said the data appears increasingly at odds
with other economic indicators, whether that be house prices, inflation or even economic growth more generally.
"Softer economic conditions, including falling property prices, suggest that employment growth will ease somewhat in
2019," Mr Pickering said.
"It will certainly be difficult to replicate the 2018 outcomes and, if that is the case,
then stronger wage growth will remain elusive."
Victoria leads jobs boom, WA lags
Queensland employers were the most active hirers, putting on almost 12,000 workers, while Victoria also reported strong
jobs growth.
Elsewhere was fairly flat, except Western Australia where 15,300 jobs were shed.
Victoria now leads the nation in terms of the lowest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 4.2 per cent, slipping past
New South Wales, which held steady at 4.3 per cent.
Western Australia has the highest jobless rate at 6.3 per cent. Seasonally adjusted estimates are not published for the
two territories.
EMBED: Unemployment by state
Topics: unemployment, business-economics-and-finance, australia
First posted Thu 24 Jan 2019, 6:09am
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream, ABS, ABC News
Unemployment rates
By states and territories, seasonally adjusted (SA) and trend
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
WA (SA)
QLD (SA)
TAS (SA)
SA (SA)
AUST (SA)
NT (Trend)
VIC (SA)
NSW (SA)
ACT (Trend)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
November December