Australia’s labor market delivered a strong upside surprise in April, with employment rising by 89k, sharply above expectations of 20.9k. Full-time jobs accounted for 59.5k of the gain, while part-time employment rose by 29.5k.
Unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%, in line with forecasts, as the surge in employment was matched by a jump in labor force participation from 66.8% to 67.1%.
Despite the headline strength, hours worked were largely unchanged on the month. Nonetheless, the employment-to-population ratio rose by 0.3 percentage points to 64.4%, just shy of the record high reached in January.
