GrafaAustralia's jobless rate holds at 4.1% in May despite dip in employment and participation
<p>Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1% in May, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.</p> <p>ABS head of labour statistics Sean Crick said employment declined slightly by 2,000 people in May, yet remained 2.3% higher than in May 2024, outpacing the pre-pandemic 10-year average annual growth rate of 1.7%.</p> <p>Despite the fall in employment and a 3,000-person drop in unemployment, the jobless rate held steady.</p> <p>The employment-to-population ratio dipped by 0.1 percentage points to 64.2%, while the participation rate also edged down to 67%.</p> <p>The female employment-to-population ratio rose to a record high of 60.9%.</p> <p>Total hours worked increased by 1.3% in May, recovering from declines in March and April linked to the Easter holidays and severe weather disruptions.</p> <p>The underemployment rate dropped to 5.9%, down 0.1 percentage points from April and 0.8 points from a year earlier.</p> <p>The underutilisation rate, which combines unemployment and underemployment, fell to 9.9%, 4 percentage points lower than in March 2020.</p> <p>In trend terms, the unemployment rate has held steady at 4.1% for three consecutive months.</p> <p>Employment grew by approximately 28,000 people (+0.2%) in May and by 2.3% over the past year.</p> <p>However, monthly hours worked rose by just 0.1%, continuing at a slower pace than job growth seen throughout 2025.</p> <p>Both the trend employment-to-population ratio and participation rate remained unchanged at 64.3% and 67.0%, respectively.</p> <p>The trend of underemployment and underutilisation rates were stable at 5.9% and 10%.</p>
