Australia’s Unemployment Rate Climbs to 4.7% as Jobs Fall in September

Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 4.7 percent in September as employment declined and the number of unemployed people increased, according to official statistics released Thursday.

The number of employed people fell by 39,000 during the month, while unemployment increased by 9,000, Sean Crick, head of labor statistics at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), said in a statement.

The employment-to-population ratio declined by 0.3 percentage points to 63.6 percent, while the participation rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 66.8 percent.

The underemployment rate, which measures people who want and are available to work more hours, increased by 0.1 percentage points to 6.3 percent, the latest ABS data showed.

Part-time hours worked dropped 1.5 percent in September, while full-time hours increased by 0.4 percent, Crick said.

On a trend basis, which the ABS recommends for assessing underlying labor market conditions, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.6 percent.

Trend employment increased by 0.1 percent, while hours worked remained unchanged in September.

Over the year, employment grew by 1.2 percent, while total hours worked increased by 1.3 percent, according to the ABS.