Unemployment has jumped to 3.7 per cent in April, easing pressures on the RBA to deliver yet another rate rise next month.
This marks a leap from the fifty-year lows since in March, where the unemployment rate sat at 3.5 per cent.
The number of employed people dropped by 4,300, with a 22,800 increase in part-time workers offset by a drop of 27,100 full-time employees, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The Reserve Bank of Australia building is seen in Sydney, Tuesday, October 1, 2019. The Reserve Bank has cut the official interest rate to a new record low of 0.75 per cent in a bid to drive up wage growth and reduce unemployment. (AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts) NO ARCHIVING
The employment-to-population ratio fell 0.2 points, to 64.2 per cent, while labour force participation rate dropped by 0.1 of a point, to 66.7 per cent.
“Even with these falls, both indicators were still well above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels and close to their historical highs in 2022,” ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.
The Reserve Bank has forecast the unemployment figures will hit 4 per cent by the end of the year.
