Australian unemployment jumped to 10.3% in June – the highest since January 2023 (10.7%)

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 3-Jul-23

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that the number of Australians who are unemployed rose by 314,000 to 1,572,000 (10.3% of the workforce) in June. However, underemployment fell 50,000 to 1,415,000 (9.3% of the workforce, down 0.5% points). A total of 2.99 million Australians (19.6% of the workforce) were unemployed or underemployed in June, up by 264,000 from May. Meanwhile, employment fell by 72,000 to 13,635,000 in June. The drop was due to a fall in part-time employment (down 167,000 to 4,697,000), while full-time employment was up 94,000 to 8,937,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 10.3% for June is almost triple the ABS estimate of 3.6% for May and is closer to the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 10.0%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Real unemployment in June up 1.9% to 10.3%

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jun-23

In June Roy Morgan shows ‘real unemployment’ jumped 1.9% to 10.3% – reversing a series of recent drops. This is the highest ‘real unemployment’ has been since January. In contrast, under-employment was down by 0.5% to 9.3% with fewer people employed part-time in June. Overall though this mean a large rise in combined unemployment and under-employment, up 1.4% to 19.6% of the workforce (2.99 million Australians) – again, this was the highest combined figure since January. These monthly movements take place within the broader context of longer-term trends in the Australian workforce – the total number of people employed or looking for work. The Australian workforce has grown rapidly over the last year. The annual increase in the working aged Australian population hit a record in the year to June 2023 – up by 632,000 to 21.9 million. This surge in the population helped drive the workforce up by 715,000 to over 15.2 million – the second largest annual increase on record. These large increases mean that employment growth has continued over the last year, despite the falls we see in the month of June.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Australian unemployment drops to 8.4% in May – the lowest since September 2022 (8.1%)

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Jun-23

In May unemployment dropped 0.1% points to 8.4%, according to the latest Roy Morgan employment series data – the fourth straight monthly drop. Unemployment is now at its lowest since COVID-19 restrictions lifted in late 2022. However, there was a rise in under-employment in May, up 0.9% points to 9.8%, to its highest level this year. The rise in under-employment came as part-time employment increased to 4.86 million – a fourth straight month of increases. The rising cost of living, with high inflation and increasing interest rates, are leading to more Australians in part-time employment needing to work more hours to earn a sufficient income. These people in part-time employment looking for more hours are considered under-employed – now nearly 10% of the workforce. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.4% is more than double the ABS estimate of 3.7% for April, and is comparable to the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 9.8%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

New overemployment trend sees Aussies earning double

Original article by Bek Day
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 31-May-23

The shift to working from home during the pandemic has resulted in strong growth in ‘overemployment’ in Australia, whereby people are working two or more full-time jobs – often at the same time and without their employer finding out. A 2022 report from human resources software company Employment Hero found that 51 per cent of knowledge workers in Australia have a secondary income stream. A spokesman for Employment Hero says overemployment is much more common in fully remote roles and task-based jobs such as software development and computer programming.

CORPORATES
EMPLOYMENT HERO

Underpayment rife among migrant workers

Original article by Tom McIlroy, Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 24-May-23

Research from the Grattan Institute has concluded that up to 16 per cent of recent migrants to Australia are being paid less than the minimum wage. This equates to around 82,000 workers; the research also suggests that up to 42,000 recent migrants are being underpaid by at least $3 an hour. Migrant workers were found to be vulnerable to many forms of exploitation apart from wage underpayment, such as unpaid leave, superannuation and penalty rates, cash-back arrangements, racism and sexual harassment. The Institute has made 27 recommendations to protect workers from exploitation.

CORPORATES
GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Australian employment hit a record high above 13.8 million in April as unemployment fell 0.9% to 8.5%

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-May-23

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that the number of Australians who are unemployed fell by 124,000 to 1.29 million (8.5% of the workforce) in April. However, underemployment was up 21,000 to 1.34 million (8.9% of the workforce). A total of 2.63 million Australians (17.4% of the workforce) were unemployed or underemployed in April, down 103,000 from March. Meanwhile, employment increased by 240,000 to 13,814,000 in April. The increase was driven by an increase in full-time employment, up 68,000 to a new record high of 9,058,000; part-time employment also increased, up 172,000 to 4,756,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 8.5% for April is 5% points higher than the ABS estimate of 3.5% for March and is comparable to the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 9.7%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Australian full-time employment in March hit a record high of 9 million as unemployment fell 0.7% to 9.4%

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Apr-23

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that the number of Australians who are unemployed fell by 111,000 to 1.41 million (9.4% of the workforce) in March. Underemployment was down 48,000 to 1.32 million (8.8% of the workforce). A total of 2.73 million Australians (18.8% of the workforce) were unemployed or underemployed in March, down 159,000. Meanwhile, employment increased by 57,000 to 13,574,000 in March. The increase was driven by an increase in full-time employment, up 41,000 to a new record high of 8,990,000; part-time employment also increased, up 16,000 to 4,584,000. Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 9.4% is almost 6% points higher than the ABS estimate of 3.5% for February and is comparable to the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 9.3%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Australian full-time employment hit a record high above 8.9 million in February as unemployment falls 0.6% to 10.1%

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Mar-23

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that the number of Australians who are unemployed fell by 86,000 to 1.52 million (10.1% of the workforce) in February. Underemployment was down 59,000 to 1.37 million (9.1% of the workforce). A total of 2.89 million Australians (19.2% of the workforce) were unemployed or underemployed in February, down 145,000. Meanwhile, employment increased by 99,000 to 13,517,000 in February. The increase was driven by an increase in full-time employment, up 48,000 to a new record high of 8,949,000; part-time employment also increased, up 51,000 to 4,568,000. Roy Morgan’s under-employment figure of 9.1% is 3% points higher than the ABS estimate of 6.1% for January. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that compared to a year ago, the increased immigration and faster population growth than during the pandemic is boosting figures across the workforce. The workforce has grown rapidly over the last year and is up 595,000 to 15,038,000 – driven by both an increase in jobs (up 301,000 to 13,517,000) and a similar-sized increased in unemployment (up 294,000 to 1,521,000).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Australian unemployment jumps to 10.7% in January – highest since JobKeeper ended in March 2021

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Feb-23

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows that 1.61 million Australians (10.7% of the workforce) were unemployed in January, up 223,000 from December. The number of Australians looking for full-time work rose by 49,000 to 644,000 in January, while the number of people looking for part-time work rose by 174,000 to 963,000. Some 1.43 million Australians (9.5% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work – up 65,000 from December. In total, 3.03 million Australians (20.2% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in January, up 288,000 on December. This is the highest level of combined unemployment and under-employment since February 2021. Meanwhile, employment decreased by 150,000 to 13,418,000 in January. This was driven by a drop in part-time employment (down 280,000 to 4,517,000), while full-time employment increased by 130,000 to 8,901,000. The movements in both full-time and part-time employment were in line with the normal seasonal trends seen at this time of year following the Christmas retailing season. Roy Morgan’s under-employment figure of 9.5% is over 3% points higher than the ABS estimate of 6.1% for December.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Jobs data is too old – we are in a new world

Original article by Terry McCrann
Herald Sun – Page: 61 : 20-Jan-23

Official data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the economy shed 14,600 jobs in December. Economists had expected a gain of about 25,000 jobs. It is important to keep in mind that the ABS data only covers the first two weeks of December, and is therefore already five or six weeks old. The ABS itself concedes that it is only 95 per cent confident that the change in jobs was somewhere between a fall of 78,400 and an increase of 49,200. The loss of 78,000 jobs leading into the Christmas peak retail season would raise concerns about a recession, as well as the prospect of interest rate cuts. A strong increase in jobs could in turn prompt the Reserve Bank to resume lifting the cash rate by 50 basis points. More relevant and more recent evidence on what is happening with the economy will be available when the central bank’s board meets in early February.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA