Australian Labor 0Market: Growth and Unemployment Rise in Tandem

In January 2025, the Australian labor market was complex, as the recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report shows. The unemployment rate increased by a mere 0.1 percentage point to 4.1%. This increase is a situation where the expansion of the labor force outpaced the capacity to generate employment during the period.

Despite the rise in unemployment, total employment showed impressive growth as the economy added 44,000 jobs. It is a growth rate of 0.3%, led primarily by growth in full-time employment, which added 54,100 jobs. Meanwhile, part-time employment registered minimal contraction, testifying to the character of change in labor forces.

Participation rate reached as high as 67.3%, reflecting higher labor force participation. The rate of underemployment was at 6.0%, though combined underutilization rate rose to 10.1%. It reflects that as more individuals participate in the labor force, there is still a high percentage struggling with unemployment or underemployment, reflecting that full and effective use of the labor force is still a problem.