Australia employment grew 17.9k in March, below expectation of 30.0k. Full-time jobs rose 20.5k while part-time jobs dropped -2.7k. Unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.0%, above expectation of 3.9%. Participation rate was unchanged at 66.4%. Monthly hours worked dropped -0.6% mom.
Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said: “With employment increasing by 18,000 people and unemployment falling by 12,000, the unemployment rate decreased slightly in March, though remained at 4.0 per cent in rounded terms.
“4.0 per cent is the lowest the unemployment rate has been in the monthly survey. Lower rates were seen in the series before November 1974, when the survey was quarterly.”
