Australia’s job market showed further signs of cooling in January, as the latest employment data reveals a modest increase of just 0.5k jobs, significantly below expectation of 20.7k growth. Looking at the details, full-time employment saw an uptick of 11.1k, counterbalanced by reduction in part-time job by -10.6k.
Unemployment rate unexpectedly rose from 3.9% to 4.1%, above expectation of 4.0%. That also marked the first occasion in two years since January 2022 that the rate has breached the 4% threshold. Participation rate held steady at 66.8%, but a notable decrease in monthly hours worked by -2.5% mom paints a picture of a slackening labor market.
