BREAKING NEWS: Don’t quit your job just yet: Australia’s unemployment surges in a month despite thousands of businesses reopening after lockdowns end in Sydney and Melbourne
- Australia’s unemployment rate spiked to 5.2 per cent in October after lockdowns
- This marked a 0.6 percentage point increase from 4.6 per cent in September
- The bad news was the steepest monthly jobless increase since May 2020
Australia’s unemployment rate has unexpectedly surged to 5.2 per cent despite the end of lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne.
The October jobless rate marked a sharp rise from 4.6 per cent in September and was the steepest monthly increase since May 2020, new Australian Bureau of Statistics data has revealed.
Australia’s unemployment rate is at the highest level since April when 5.5 per cent of the labour force was without work, calling into question the phenomenon of the ‘Great Resignation’ where workers have more power to find another job.
Australia’s unemployment rate has surged to 5.2 per cent despite the end of lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne (pictured is a waitress at the Sydney Opera Bar)
The bad news has also caught the Reserve Bank of Australia by surprise, after revising its forecasts on Friday to have unemployment falling to 4.75 per cent by the end of 2021.
The number of Australians without work but wanting a job last month grew by 81,800 to 707,300 as the number of hours worked across the economy plunged by one million.
The participation rate in October also increased by 0.1 percentage points to 64.7 per cent, which meant more people were looking for a job in anticipation of lockdowns ending.
The under employment rate where workers want more hours increased to 9.5 per cent from 9.2 per cent.
While the jobless rate is well below the 7.4 per cent pandemic peak hit in June and July last year, the 0.6 percentage point increase in one month mirrored what happened in May 2020 when the national Covid lockdowns ended.
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