Blog Post - Unemployment rates down again for February 2023

Australian unemployment rates are down again, with the data from February indicating that rate fell to 3.5 per cent (via the Australian Bureau of Statistics). 65’000 jobs were added to the economy last month and the number of unemployed decreased by 17’000 people, which brings us back to the levels we saw in December 2022. 

The ABS data also shows that the labour force participation rate in Australia increased by 0.1 percentage point to 66.6% in February 2023. These numbers confirm that the weaker figures seen last month were due to a high number of seasonal work ending, and people waiting to start a new job in February. 

Mr Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, stated that "The latest monthly increase in trend employment was only slightly below the monthly average for the 20 years before the pandemic. This now shows that, while underlying employment growth has slowed down compared with what we saw through much of 2022, it is still increasing at close to its long-term historical rate," 

So what does all of this mean for Australians? If you’re a job seeker this is good news. Companies are seeking out available, skilled staff and are often willing to be flexible to secure a motivated worker. For the employed, the workforce has never been more secure in employment, with unemployment levels being at their lowest since the 1970s. If you’re a business owner, you could be noticing how challenging it is to find staff, the market is increasingly competitive and there are skills shortages as the unemployment rate remains historically low. If you’re a homeowner, Economists say the strong jobs numbers make another interest rate rise from the Reserve Bank very likely, as Australia’s inflation remains stubbornly high. 

One thing remains clear, The Australian economy and job market remains strong, despite a string of rate increases. 

If you’re a business owner and need assistance in finding the right staff for your team, contact us on 1300 789 687 to learn more about how we may be able to help.