Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 4.1 per cent in January, from 4 per cent in December, as more people found work or looked for a job.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), employment increased by 44,000 in the month, driven by an increase in full-time positions, while part-time employment fell.
The participation rate, which measures the proportion of people in work or looking for a job, rose to 67.3 per cent.
“The rises in both the number of people employed and unemployed saw the participation rate rise by 0.1 percentage point, to a new record high,” ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.
Economists had expected the unemployment rate to edge up at the start of 2025, but the number of jobs added was ahead of forecasts.
The Reserve Bank has forecast the unemployment rate to average 4.2 per cent in the June quarter and remain around that level over the next year.
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