6202.0 - Labour Force, Australia, May 2013 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 13/06/2013   
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MEDIA RELEASE
13 June 2013
Embargoed: 11.30 am Canberra Time
107/2013
Australia's unemployment rate at 5.5 per cent in May 2013


Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was estimated at 5.5 per cent in May, as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

The ABS reported the number of people employed increased by 1,100 to 11,663,300 in May. The increase in employment was due to increased part-time employment, up 6,400 people to 3,509,600, offset by decreased full-time employment, down 5,300 to 8,153,600. The increase in total employment was mainly driven by an increase in male part-time employment.

The number of people unemployed decreased by 3,600 people to 682,900 in May, the ABS reported.

The ABS monthly seasonally adjusted aggregate hours worked series showed a decrease in May, down 11.5 million hours to 1,628.5 million hours.

The ABS reported a seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate decrease of 0.1 percentage points to 65.2 per cent in May.

The seasonally adjusted underemployment rate was 7.4 per cent in May 2013. Combined with the unemployment rate of 5.5 per cent, the latest seasonally adjusted estimate of total labour force underutilisation was 12.9 per cent in May.

More details are in the May 2013 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0), as well as the upcoming May 2013 issues of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001) and Labour Force, Australia, Quarterly (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003), due for release next week on June 20. These publications are available for free download (after release) from the ABS website - www.abs.gov.au.

Media note:
When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.