More than 65,000 Australians workers found themselves out of a job in December in a further sign that the economy is cooling under the impact of soaring interest rates.
While the number of part-time positions rose by 41,400 this was offset by the loss of 106,600 full-time positions, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, according to fresh seasonally adjusted figures.
Yet even as the number of jobs fell, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.9 per cent, in-line with economists’ expectations.
The result was in-part due to a fall in the participation rate — the share of Australia’s working aged population in work or looking for work — which dropped from a record high of 67.3 per cent in November, to 66.8 per cent.
Due to Australia’s surging population growth, which has risen by more than 620,000 in the last 12 months on the back of record net overseas migration, about 35,000 new jobs are required each month just to keep the unemployment rate steady.
“The fall in employment in December followed larger than usual employment growth in October and November, a combined increase of 117,000 people, with the employment-to-population ratio and participation rate both at record highs in November,” ABS head of labour statistics David Taylor said.
The fresh jobs report will add further weight to the view that higher borrowing costs have slowed the economy, meaning the Reserve Bank will keep rates on hold at its first meeting for 2024, scheduled for February 6.
The RBA has raised rates at the most rapid pace in decades to bring inflation, currently at 4.3 per cent, under control. Since its November meeting, the RBA has held rates steady at 4.35 per cent, as price pressures across the economy eased.
In recent communications, RBA governor Michele Bullock has noted that the labour market has reached a “turning point”, after hovering between 3.4 and 3.8 per cent for much of the past two years.
