Australian Labour Force Trends: February to May
February: Unemployment Rises to 4.3%
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.3% in February, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month. The number of unemployed people increased by 35,000, while the participation rate rose by 0.2 percentage points to 66.9%.
Total employment increased by 49,000 people, though this masked a significant shift in work patterns. Part-time employment rose by 79,000 people, while full-time employment fell by 30,000 people. Total hours worked decreased by 0.2%.
"Fewer individuals who were unemployed and awaiting job starts in January moved into employment in February, relative to recent Februarys."
Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, noted that more people remained unemployed in February compared to recent years. He highlighted an increase in people moving into part-time employment, particularly among those aged 65 and over, and observed that fewer people were leaving jobs to retire compared to a year ago.
March: Unemployment Holds Steady at 4.3%
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held at 4.3% in March, unchanged from the previous month. The number of unemployed people decreased by 4,000, while the participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 66.8%.
The number of employed people increased by 18,000. Full-time employment rose by 53,000 people, driven by increases for both males (29,000) and females (24,000). Part-time employment fell by 35,000 people, with decreases for both males (19,000) and females (16,000).
"The growth in employment was driven by full-time workers, which was partly offset by a fall in part-time employment."
April: Unemployment Jumps to 4.5%
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in April. Employment fell by 19,000, while unemployment rose by 33,000. Both full-time and part-time employment declined—full-time fell by 11,000, and part-time fell by 8,000.
Female employment dropped by 32,000 (19,000 full-time, 13,000 part-time). The ABS reported this was the first fall in female employment since August 2025. Male employment increased by 13,000 (8,000 full-time, 5,000 part-time).
The number of unemployed people looking for full-time work increased by 11,000, while those looking for part-time work increased by 22,000. The underemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 5.8%.
"Both full-time and part-time employment fell, by 11,000 and 8,000 people respectively. Compared to usual April patterns, more people remained unemployed this month."
May: Unemployment Dips to 4.4%
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.4% in May. Employment increased by 40,000, while unemployment fell by 18,000. Full-time employment rose by 5,000, and part-time employment rose by 35,000. The underemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 5.9%.
"Over the past few months, we have recorded higher proportions of unemployed people waiting to start jobs who then remained unemployed in the following month."
Mr. Crick added that "the backlog of people waiting to start a job has eased in May," contributing to the 40,000 rise in employment and the 18,000 fall in unemployed persons.