Labour Force, Australia, April 2026

Main features

Modernising the Labour Force Survey

The ABS is improving how we collect the Labour Force Survey so we can continue producing high-quality labour force statistics, maintain strong response rates, provide a better experience for respondents, and run our business more efficiently.

For further details on these plans, see Modernising the Labour Force Survey, Upcoming changes to Labour Force Survey outputs and How the ABS quality assures Labour Force data during times of change.

Key statistics - Seasonally adjusted
	Mar-26	Apr-26	Monthly change	Monthly change (%)	Yearly change	Yearly change (%)
Employed people	14,756,000	14,737,400	-18,600	-0.1%	128,900	0.9%
Employment to population ratio	63.9%	63.7%	-0.2 pts	na	-0.7 pts	na
Unemployed people	659,500	692,500	33,000	5.0%	75,700	12.3%
Unemployment rate	4.3%	4.5%	0.2 pts	na	0.4 pts	na
Underemployment rate	5.9%	5.8%	-0.1 pts	na	-0.2 pts	na
Participation rate	66.8%	66.7%	-0.1 pts	na	-0.4 pts	na
Monthly hours worked in all jobs	2,020 million	2,036 million	16 million	0.8%	70 million	3.5%

Key statistics - Trend
	Mar-26	Apr-26	Monthly change	Monthly change (%)	Yearly change	Yearly change (%)
Employed people	14,731,700	14,753,800	22,100	0.2%	187,200	1.3%
Employment to population ratio	63.8%	63.8%	0.0 pts	na	-0.4 pts	na
Unemployed people	665,000	669,500	4,500	0.7%	46,000	7.4%
Unemployment rate	4.3%	4.3%	0.0 pts	na	0.2 pts	na
Underemployment rate	5.9%	5.9%	0.0 pts	na	0.0 pts	na
Participation rate	66.7%	66.7%	0.0 pts	na	-0.2 pts	na
Monthly hours worked in all jobs	2,022 million	2,028 million	7 million	0.3%	52 million	2.7%

Estimates of changes throughout this release are calculated using un-rounded level estimates and may be different from, but are more accurate than, movements obtained from the rounded level estimates.

For definitions of labour statistics used in this publication, please refer to Glossary of Labour Force, Australia methodology.

Survey impacts and changes

Labour Force Modernisation

Rotation group analysis

Incoming and outgoing rotation groups
	March outgoing rotation group	April incoming rotation group	April outgoing rotation groups*	April estimate (Original)
Employment to population ratio	65.6%	64.8%	63.2%	64.5%
Full-time employment to population ratio	44.5%	44.0%	43.7%	44.3%
Unemployment rate	4.6%	4.6%	4.7%	4.5%
Participation rate	68.7%	67.9%	66.3%	67.6%

Survey dates

Reference and Enumeration Dates
Publication	Start of Reference Week	End of Reference Week	Start of Enumeration	End of Enumeration
Mar-26	1st March 2026	14th March 2026	8th March 2026	28th March 2026
Apr-26	29th March 2026	11th April 2026	5th April 2026	25th April 2026
May-26	3rd May 2026	16th May 2026	10th May 2026	30th May 2026
Jun-26	31st May 2026	13th June 2026	7th June 2026	27th June 2026
Jul-26	28th June 2026	11th July 2026	5th July 2026	25th July 2026
Aug-26	2nd August 2026	15th August 2026	9th August 2026	29th August 2026

Annual Series Review

Employment

In April 2026, employment decreased by 18,600 people (0.1%) to 14,737,400 people in seasonally adjusted terms. Full-time employment decreased by 10,700 to 10,160,900 people, and part-time employment decreased by 7,900 to 4,576,500 people.

Employed people
	Trend ('000)	Seasonally adjusted ('000)
Apr-16	11,952.9	11,948.1
May-16	11,961.4	11,941.7
Jun-16	11,967.5	11,962.9
Jul-16	11,971.0	11,996.1
Aug-16	11,973.2	11,956.0
Sep-16	11,974.9	11,942.4
Oct-16	11,977.8	11,961.4
Nov-16	11,983.4	11,987.4
Dec-16	11,993.4	12,017.7
Jan-17	12,011.3	12,039.6
Feb-17	12,037.5	12,015.1
Mar-17	12,072.0	12,075.5
Apr-17	12,113.7	12,132.8
May-17	12,158.0	12,164.6
Jun-17	12,201.3	12,197.2
Jul-17	12,240.7	12,232.9
Aug-17	12,275.1	12,282.2
Sep-17	12,305.5	12,321.7
Oct-17	12,333.3	12,325.8
Nov-17	12,359.6	12,368.4
Dec-17	12,383.5	12,397.9
Jan-18	12,403.4	12,437.8
Feb-18	12,418.7	12,421.8
Mar-18	12,432.3	12,442.1
Apr-18	12,448.0	12,460.3
May-18	12,469.6	12,451.9
Jun-18	12,498.0	12,521.8
Jul-18	12,530.2	12,523.0
Aug-18	12,563.6	12,586.2
Sep-18	12,595.8	12,601.7
Oct-18	12,624.2	12,625.4
Nov-18	12,648.7	12,644.7
Dec-18	12,672.1	12,670.1
Jan-19	12,697.8	12,715.0
Feb-19	12,725.8	12,725.1
Mar-19	12,754.8	12,748.6
Apr-19	12,783.6	12,785.4
May-19	12,811.1	12,791.3
Jun-19	12,835.2	12,804.2
Jul-19	12,854.0	12,837.4
Aug-19	12,867.5	12,883.3
Sep-19	12,877.4	12,903.2
Oct-19	12,887.1	12,854.4
Nov-19	12,897.9	12,874.5
Dec-19	12,908.8	12,924.0
Jan-20	12,916.9	12,931.3
Feb-20	12,920.8	12,930.7
Mar-20	12,920.8	12,925.4
Apr-20		12,346.7
May-20		12,050.3
Jun-20		12,279.6
Jul-20		12,416.7
Aug-20		12,552.7
Sep-20		12,520.1
Oct-20		12,658.9
Nov-20		12,742.3
Dec-20		12,797.9
Jan-21		12,841.1
Feb-21		12,893.7
Mar-21		12,952.8
Apr-21		12,947.9
May-21		13,035.2
Jun-21		13,060.2
Jul-21		13,085.5
Aug-21		12,953.1
Sep-21		12,827.4
Oct-21		12,778.8
Nov-21		13,144.2
Dec-21		13,227.2
Jan-22		13,291.7
Feb-22		13,367.2
Mar-22		13,388.2
Apr-22	13,468.0	13,450.2
May-22	13,524.3	13,482.5
Jun-22	13,575.0	13,585.3
Jul-22	13,619.8	13,594.3
Aug-22	13,657.6	13,666.6
Sep-22	13,688.4	13,673.9
Oct-22	13,715.0	13,713.8
Nov-22	13,741.8	13,781.6
Dec-22	13,773.4	13,778.9
Jan-23	13,812.1	13,800.2
Feb-23	13,856.5	13,840.0
Mar-23	13,903.2	13,928.8
Apr-23	13,948.2	13,930.4
May-23	13,988.9	14,010.0
Jun-23	14,024.9	14,032.9
Jul-23	14,058.2	14,029.1
Aug-23	14,088.9	14,102.1
Sep-23	14,117.9	14,095.4
Oct-23	14,145.0	14,152.4
Nov-23	14,169.3	14,200.7
Dec-23	14,190.8	14,147.8
Jan-24	14,209.1	14,144.5
Feb-24	14,227.9	14,252.2
Mar-24	14,249.4	14,229.0
Apr-24	14,274.6	14,268.9
May-24	14,302.7	14,288.4
Jun-24	14,332.8	14,326.9
Jul-24	14,363.1	14,377.0
Aug-24	14,394.3	14,410.3
Sep-24	14,425.5	14,446.5
Oct-24	14,453.9	14,445.3
Nov-24	14,479.2	14,464.0
Dec-24	14,501.8	14,511.8
Jan-25	14,522.2	14,543.1
Feb-25	14,540.0	14,469.1
Mar-25	14,554.5	14,498.1
Apr-25	14,566.6	14,608.4
May-25	14,576.1	14,587.2
Jun-25	14,584.8	14,581.2
Jul-25	14,593.5	14,615.1
Aug-25	14,604.0	14,602.2
Sep-25	14,616.1	14,611.4
Oct-25	14,631.7	14,645.3
Nov-25	14,650.6	14,606.4
Dec-25	14,671.1	14,664.2
Jan-26	14,691.6	14,703.8
Feb-26	14,711.3	14,732.7
Mar-26	14,731.7	14,756.0
Apr-26	14,753.8	14,737.4

Employed people

["","Trend","Seasonally adjusted"]

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Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2026.

Employment-to-population ratio

In April 2026, the employment-to-population ratio fell by 0.2ppt to 63.7% in seasonally adjusted terms. The employment-to-population ratio remained at 67.5% for males, and decreased by 0.4ppt to 60.0% for females.

Employment-to-population ratio
	Trend (%)	Seasonally adjusted (%)
Apr-16	61.3	61.2
May-16	61.2	61.1
Jun-16	61.2	61.2
Jul-16	61.1	61.2
Aug-16	61.0	61.0
Sep-16	61.0	60.8
Oct-16	60.9	60.8
Nov-16	60.8	60.9
Dec-16	60.8	61.0
Jan-17	60.8	60.9
Feb-17	60.8	60.7
Mar-17	60.9	60.9
Apr-17	61.0	61.1
May-17	61.2	61.2
Jun-17	61.3	61.3
Jul-17	61.4	61.4
Aug-17	61.5	61.6
Sep-17	61.6	61.7
Oct-17	61.7	61.6
Nov-17	61.7	61.8
Dec-17	61.8	61.9
Jan-18	61.8	62.0
Feb-18	61.8	61.8
Mar-18	61.7	61.8
Apr-18	61.7	61.8
May-18	61.7	61.7
Jun-18	61.8	61.9
Jul-18	61.9	61.9
Aug-18	62.0	62.1
Sep-18	62.0	62.1
Oct-18	62.1	62.1
Nov-18	62.1	62.1
Dec-18	62.2	62.2
Jan-19	62.2	62.3
Feb-19	62.2	62.2
Mar-19	62.3	62.2
Apr-19	62.4	62.4
May-19	62.4	62.3
Jun-19	62.5	62.3
Jul-19	62.5	62.4
Aug-19	62.5	62.5
Sep-19	62.4	62.5
Oct-19	62.4	62.2
Nov-19	62.3	62.2
Dec-19	62.3	62.4
Jan-20	62.3	62.3
Feb-20	62.2	62.2
Mar-20	62.1	62.1
Apr-20		59.3
May-20		57.9
Jun-20		59.0
Jul-20		59.6
Aug-20		60.3
Sep-20		60.1
Oct-20		60.8
Nov-20		61.2
Dec-20		61.5
Jan-21		61.6
Feb-21		61.9
Mar-21		62.1
Apr-21		62.1
May-21		62.5
Jun-21		62.6
Jul-21		62.7
Aug-21		62.0
Sep-21		61.4
Oct-21		61.1
Nov-21		62.8
Dec-21		63.1
Jan-22		63.3
Feb-22		63.5
Mar-22		63.5
Apr-22	63.8	63.7
May-22	63.9	63.7
Jun-22	64.0	64.1
Jul-22	64.1	64.0
Aug-22	64.2	64.2
Sep-22	64.2	64.1
Oct-22	64.1	64.1
Nov-22	64.1	64.3
Dec-22	64.1	64.1
Jan-23	64.1	64.0
Feb-23	64.1	64.0
Mar-23	64.2	64.3
Apr-23	64.2	64.1
May-23	64.2	64.4
Jun-23	64.3	64.3
Jul-23	64.3	64.1
Aug-23	64.3	64.3
Sep-23	64.2	64.1
Oct-23	64.2	64.3
Nov-23	64.2	64.4
Dec-23	64.2	64.0
Jan-24	64.1	63.8
Feb-24	64.1	64.2
Mar-24	64.1	63.9
Apr-24	64.1	64.0
May-24	64.1	64.0
Jun-24	64.1	64.1
Jul-24	64.2	64.3
Aug-24	64.2	64.3
Sep-24	64.3	64.4
Oct-24	64.3	64.3
Nov-24	64.3	64.3
Dec-24	64.3	64.4
Jan-25	64.3	64.4
Feb-25	64.3	64.0
Mar-25	64.2	64.0
Apr-25	64.2	64.4
May-25	64.1	64.2
Jun-25	64.1	64.1
Jul-25	64.0	64.2
Aug-25	64.0	64.0
Sep-25	64.0	63.9
Oct-25	64.0	64.0
Nov-25	63.9	63.8
Dec-25	63.9	63.9
Jan-26	63.9	64.0
Feb-26	63.9	64.0
Mar-26	63.8	63.9
Apr-26	63.8	63.7

Employment-to-population ratio

["","Trend","Seasonally adjusted"]

[["Apr-16","May-16","Jun-16","Jul-16","Aug-16","Sep-16","Oct-16","Nov-16","Dec-16","Jan-17","Feb-17","Mar-17","Apr-17","May-17","Jun-17","Jul-17","Aug-17","Sep-17","Oct-17","Nov-17","Dec-17","Jan-18","Feb-18","Mar-18","Apr-18","May-18","Jun-18","Jul-18","Aug-18","Sep-18","Oct-18","Nov-18","Dec-18","Jan-19","Feb-19","Mar-19","Apr-19","May-19","Jun-19","Jul-19","Aug-19","Sep-19","Oct-19","Nov-19","Dec-19","Jan-20","Feb-20","Mar-20","Apr-20","May-20","Jun-20","Jul-20","Aug-20","Sep-20","Oct-20","Nov-20","Dec-20","Jan-21","Feb-21","Mar-21","Apr-21","May-21","Jun-21","Jul-21","Aug-21","Sep-21","Oct-21","Nov-21","Dec-21","Jan-22","Feb-22","Mar-22","Apr-22","May-22","Jun-22","Jul-22","Aug-22","Sep-22","Oct-22","Nov-22","Dec-22","Jan-23","Feb-23","Mar-23","Apr-23","May-23","Jun-23","Jul-23","Aug-23","Sep-23","Oct-23","Nov-23","Dec-23","Jan-24","Feb-24","Mar-24","Apr-24","May-24","Jun-24","Jul-24","Aug-24","Sep-24","Oct-24","Nov-24","Dec-24","Jan-25","Feb-25","Mar-25","Apr-25","May-25","Jun-25","Jul-25","Aug-25","Sep-25","Oct-25","Nov-25","Dec-25","Jan-26","Feb-26","Mar-26","Apr-26"],[[61.266698],[61.229105],[61.180647],[61.117835],[61.046791],[60.973218],[60.904307],[60.845396],[60.804387],[60.798746],[60.833896],[60.913656],[61.035169],[61.176138],[61.315549],[61.438046],[61.536592],[61.615678],[61.681313],[61.735741],[61.771361],[61.780256],[61.762323],[61.737104],[61.726177],[61.748309],[61.806191],[61.883263],[61.965722],[62.042829],[62.101194],[62.138107],[62.165483],[62.200729],[62.247234],[62.302244],[62.361687],[62.419788],[62.46121],[62.47447],[62.458272],[62.422351],[62.383284],[62.348211],[62.311719],[62.263093],[62.200631],[62.133687],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[63.76506],[63.913815],[64.032317],[64.11536],[64.15693],[64.157509],[64.130492],[64.097453],[64.078408],[64.087296],[64.120901],[64.169006],[64.215277],[64.247868],[64.262112],[64.265764],[64.259138],[64.248129],[64.232364],[64.206755],[64.168925],[64.118303],[64.075884],[64.055902],[64.064942],[64.09772],[64.145703],[64.195847],[64.247413],[64.296596],[64.328691],[64.341533],[64.335228],[64.314663],[64.281991],[64.240421],[64.195736],[64.146811],[64.098362],[64.049893],[64.008786],[63.973799],[63.952137],[63.939199],[63.924908],[63.902975],[63.873154],[63.844035],[63.819276]],[[61.235922],[61.133969],[61.172967],[61.249781],[60.954197],[60.793964],[60.815277],[60.872168],[60.950621],[60.949418],[60.713466],[60.906405],[61.125116],[61.215171],[61.308503],[61.403074],[61.564877],[61.678025],[61.636603],[61.788265],[61.873924],[61.96157],[61.770654],[61.761261],[61.779364],[61.666297],[61.940444],[61.853084],[62.0716],[62.054776],[62.101072],[62.125572],[62.180135],[62.293273],[62.235348],[62.243412],[62.362205],[62.330468],[62.33267],[62.400683],[62.530198],[62.532992],[62.221359],[62.242821],[62.406736],[62.343858],[62.243286],[62.120688],[59.3181],[57.873667],[58.954469],[59.621406],[60.283511],[60.135668],[60.79794],[61.193998],[61.456431],[61.644984],[61.87894],[62.143579],[62.090612],[62.479888],[62.56998],[62.671201],[62.017189],[61.395384],[61.098778],[62.779729],[63.110334],[63.284588],[63.510621],[63.477205],[63.669711],[63.721069],[64.104975],[64.00004],[64.192809],[64.080083],[64.118795],[64.288019],[64.128368],[64.038709],[64.035381],[64.258159],[64.126296],[64.352858],[64.318625],[64.138746],[64.310206],[64.117831],[64.257552],[64.357025],[63.998609],[63.837508],[64.177277],[63.927383],[64.030384],[64.041725],[64.138179],[64.264106],[64.31437],[64.377688],[64.284957],[64.281105],[64.406488],[64.415731],[63.959203],[63.959096],[64.371467],[64.203701],[64.103108],[64.15108],[63.993499],[63.933118],[64.00407],[63.757289],[63.932394],[63.967962],[63.956433],[63.921072],[63.712975]]]

[]

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[{"value":"0","axis_id":"0","axis_title":"%","axis_units":"","tooltip_units":"(%)","table_units":"(%)","axis_min":null,"axis_max":null,"tick_interval":null,"precision":"1","data_unit_prefix":"","data_unit_suffix":"","reverse_axis":false}]

Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2026.

Unemployment

In April 2026, the unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in seasonally adjusted terms, with the number of unemployed people increasing by 33,000 to 692,500 people. The unemployment rate remained at 4.6% for males and increased by 0.4ppt to 4.4% for females. The youth unemployment rate increased by 0.9ppt to 11.1%.

Unemployment rate
	Trend (%)	Seasonally adjusted (%)
Apr-16	5.7	5.6
May-16	5.7	5.7
Jun-16	5.6	5.7
Jul-16	5.6	5.7
Aug-16	5.6	5.6
Sep-16	5.7	5.7
Oct-16	5.7	5.6
Nov-16	5.7	5.8
Dec-16	5.8	5.8
Jan-17	5.8	5.7
Feb-17	5.8	5.9
Mar-17	5.8	5.8
Apr-17	5.7	5.6
May-17	5.7	5.5
Jun-17	5.6	5.6
Jul-17	5.6	5.6
Aug-17	5.5	5.5
Sep-17	5.5	5.5
Oct-17	5.5	5.4
Nov-17	5.5	5.5
Dec-17	5.5	5.6
Jan-18	5.5	5.5
Feb-18	5.5	5.6
Mar-18	5.5	5.5
Apr-18	5.5	5.5
May-18	5.4	5.4
Jun-18	5.4	5.3
Jul-18	5.3	5.3
Aug-18	5.2	5.2
Sep-18	5.2	5.0
Oct-18	5.1	5.0
Nov-18	5.1	5.1
Dec-18	5.0	5.0
Jan-19	5.0	5.0
Feb-19	5.0	5.0
Mar-19	5.1	5.1
Apr-19	5.1	5.2
May-19	5.2	5.2
Jun-19	5.2	5.3
Jul-19	5.3	5.3
Aug-19	5.3	5.3
Sep-19	5.2	5.2
Oct-19	5.2	5.3
Nov-19	5.2	5.2
Dec-19	5.2	5.0
Jan-20	5.2	5.2
Feb-20	5.2	5.1
Mar-20	5.3	5.2
Apr-20		6.3
May-20		7.0
Jun-20		7.4
Jul-20		7.4
Aug-20		6.8
Sep-20		6.9
Oct-20		7.0
Nov-20		6.8
Dec-20		6.6
Jan-21		6.3
Feb-21		5.8
Mar-21		5.7
Apr-21		5.5
May-21		5.1
Jun-21		5.0
Jul-21		4.7
Aug-21		4.6
Sep-21		4.7
Oct-21		5.2
Nov-21		4.6
Dec-21		4.2
Jan-22		4.2
Feb-22		4.0
Mar-22		4.0
Apr-22	3.9	3.8
May-22	3.8	3.9
Jun-22	3.7	3.6
Jul-22	3.6	3.5
Aug-22	3.5	3.5
Sep-22	3.5	3.6
Oct-22	3.5	3.4
Nov-22	3.5	3.5
Dec-22	3.5	3.5
Jan-23	3.6	3.7
Feb-23	3.6	3.6
Mar-23	3.6	3.6
Apr-23	3.6	3.7
May-23	3.6	3.6
Jun-23	3.6	3.5
Jul-23	3.6	3.7
Aug-23	3.7	3.7
Sep-23	3.7	3.6
Oct-23	3.8	3.8
Nov-23	3.8	3.9
Dec-23	3.9	4.0
Jan-24	3.9	4.1
Feb-24	4.0	3.7
Mar-24	4.0	3.9
Apr-24	4.0	4.1
May-24	4.0	4.0
Jun-24	4.1	4.0
Jul-24	4.1	4.2
Aug-24	4.1	4.1
Sep-24	4.1	4.0
Oct-24	4.1	4.1
Nov-24	4.0	3.9
Dec-24	4.0	4.0
Jan-25	4.0	4.1
Feb-25	4.0	4.1
Mar-25	4.1	4.1
Apr-25	4.1	4.1
May-25	4.2	4.1
Jun-25	4.2	4.3
Jul-25	4.3	4.3
Aug-25	4.3	4.3
Sep-25	4.3	4.4
Oct-25	4.3	4.3
Nov-25	4.3	4.3
Dec-25	4.3	4.1
Jan-26	4.3	4.1
Feb-26	4.3	4.3
Mar-26	4.3	4.3
Apr-26	4.3	4.5

Unemployment rate

["","Trend","Seasonally adjusted"]

[["Apr-16","May-16","Jun-16","Jul-16","Aug-16","Sep-16","Oct-16","Nov-16","Dec-16","Jan-17","Feb-17","Mar-17","Apr-17","May-17","Jun-17","Jul-17","Aug-17","Sep-17","Oct-17","Nov-17","Dec-17","Jan-18","Feb-18","Mar-18","Apr-18","May-18","Jun-18","Jul-18","Aug-18","Sep-18","Oct-18","Nov-18","Dec-18","Jan-19","Feb-19","Mar-19","Apr-19","May-19","Jun-19","Jul-19","Aug-19","Sep-19","Oct-19","Nov-19","Dec-19","Jan-20","Feb-20","Mar-20","Apr-20","May-20","Jun-20","Jul-20","Aug-20","Sep-20","Oct-20","Nov-20","Dec-20","Jan-21","Feb-21","Mar-21","Apr-21","May-21","Jun-21","Jul-21","Aug-21","Sep-21","Oct-21","Nov-21","Dec-21","Jan-22","Feb-22","Mar-22","Apr-22","May-22","Jun-22","Jul-22","Aug-22","Sep-22","Oct-22","Nov-22","Dec-22","Jan-23","Feb-23","Mar-23","Apr-23","May-23","Jun-23","Jul-23","Aug-23","Sep-23","Oct-23","Nov-23","Dec-23","Jan-24","Feb-24","Mar-24","Apr-24","May-24","Jun-24","Jul-24","Aug-24","Sep-24","Oct-24","Nov-24","Dec-24","Jan-25","Feb-25","Mar-25","Apr-25","May-25","Jun-25","Jul-25","Aug-25","Sep-25","Oct-25","Nov-25","Dec-25","Jan-26","Feb-26","Mar-26","Apr-26"],[[5.679525],[5.660187],[5.643923],[5.637451],[5.641649],[5.655338],[5.687141],[5.734203],[5.779759],[5.803369],[5.800315],[5.770863],[5.723702],[5.669275],[5.615032],[5.564988],[5.527649],[5.508363],[5.499158],[5.49891],[5.510865],[5.526388],[5.532395],[5.520951],[5.490228],[5.441025],[5.381567],[5.314603],[5.241664],[5.170095],[5.106604],[5.059507],[5.031291],[5.026519],[5.045475],[5.082764],[5.129857],[5.18015],[5.224915],[5.253851],[5.260587],[5.246801],[5.218315],[5.185049],[5.160343],[5.163933],[5.203389],[5.275747],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[3.854625],[3.752849],[3.652078],[3.564483],[3.508244],[3.486712],[3.494935],[3.519387],[3.548141],[3.566992],[3.576162],[3.581608],[3.586723],[3.594839],[3.610413],[3.636842],[3.678655],[3.732009],[3.789555],[3.843662],[3.891847],[3.930182],[3.957544],[3.978613],[4.001882],[4.032819],[4.062449],[4.080318],[4.080093],[4.067433],[4.052356],[4.038869],[4.027094],[4.024645],[4.038201],[4.065415],[4.104251],[4.154303],[4.21107],[4.266564],[4.306548],[4.325947],[4.322715],[4.308225],[4.294784],[4.291697],[4.300532],[4.318959],[4.340575]],[[5.64492],[5.721288],[5.695054],[5.693171],[5.614818],[5.665266],[5.597285],[5.767598],[5.837077],[5.683653],[5.893006],[5.84546],[5.608059],[5.547048],[5.622412],[5.605319],[5.529626],[5.463818],[5.404452],[5.454756],[5.617777],[5.524039],[5.581059],[5.529701],[5.543501],[5.434569],[5.34208],[5.294884],[5.24399],[5.019291],[5.002936],[5.109688],[5.019266],[5.049303],[4.991936],[5.087867],[5.2176],[5.193856],[5.25997],[5.276403],[5.258453],[5.228038],[5.30416],[5.173294],[5.040894],[5.248915],[5.111805],[5.197243],[6.29913],[6.982423],[7.424767],[7.437772],[6.795607],[6.927715],[6.951923],[6.812651],[6.561944],[6.276855],[5.84559],[5.671915],[5.462111],[5.103927],[5.025041],[4.725484],[4.575265],[4.704459],[5.239094],[4.634671],[4.211645],[4.166806],[4.029777],[3.981553],[3.849193],[3.932278],[3.607141],[3.450658],[3.529118],[3.600193],[3.438267],[3.517134],[3.527992],[3.661905],[3.608265],[3.592867],[3.700071],[3.579396],[3.519915],[3.718688],[3.681962],[3.561095],[3.78107],[3.932787],[3.988637],[4.09256],[3.738072],[3.895219],[4.076824],[3.993607],[4.033708],[4.202619],[4.129919],[4.018632],[4.094161],[3.937005],[4.000141],[4.126959],[4.070319],[4.077158],[4.050842],[4.090248],[4.315332],[4.250489],[4.250281],[4.444624],[4.33431],[4.322462],[4.119266],[4.08214],[4.300305],[4.278003],[4.487755]]]

[]

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Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2026.

Underemployment

In April 2026, the underemployment rate fell by 0.1ppt to 5.8% and the underutilisation rate rose by 0.1ppt to 10.3% in seasonally adjusted terms.

Underemployment rate and underutilisation rate
	Underemployment rate - Trend (%)	Underemployment rate - Seasonally adjusted (%)	Underutilisation rate - Trend (%)	Underutilisation rate - Seasonally adjusted (%)
Apr-16	8.5	8.6	14.2	14.3
May-16	8.6	8.3	14.2	14.1
Jun-16	8.7	8.8	14.3	14.5
Jul-16	8.7	9.0	14.3	14.7
Aug-16	8.7	8.8	14.3	14.4
Sep-16	8.6	8.7	14.3	14.4
Oct-16	8.6	8.5	14.3	14.1
Nov-16	8.6	8.5	14.3	14.3
Dec-16	8.6	8.6	14.4	14.4
Jan-17	8.7	8.7	14.5	14.4
Feb-17	8.7	9.0	14.5	14.9
Mar-17	8.7	8.6	14.5	14.4
Apr-17	8.7	8.7	14.4	14.3
May-17	8.6	8.7	14.3	14.3
Jun-17	8.6	8.4	14.2	14.0
Jul-17	8.5	8.5	14.1	14.1
Aug-17	8.5	8.6	14.0	14.1
Sep-17	8.5	8.5	14.0	14.0
Oct-17	8.5	8.4	14.0	13.9
Nov-17	8.5	8.5	14.0	14.0
Dec-17	8.5	8.5	14.0	14.1
Jan-18	8.5	8.7	14.0	14.2
Feb-18	8.5	8.5	14.0	14.1
Mar-18	8.5	8.6	14.0	14.1
Apr-18	8.5	8.4	14.0	14.0
May-18	8.5	8.5	14.0	14.0
Jun-18	8.5	8.6	13.9	13.9
Jul-18	8.4	8.5	13.7	13.8
Aug-18	8.4	8.2	13.6	13.4
Sep-18	8.3	8.3	13.5	13.3
Oct-18	8.3	8.2	13.4	13.2
Nov-18	8.2	8.5	13.3	13.6
Dec-18	8.2	8.3	13.2	13.3
Jan-19	8.2	8.1	13.2	13.1
Feb-19	8.2	8.0	13.3	13.0
Mar-19	8.2	8.2	13.3	13.3
Apr-19	8.3	8.4	13.4	13.7
May-19	8.3	8.7	13.5	13.9
Jun-19	8.4	8.2	13.6	13.5
Jul-19	8.4	8.4	13.6	13.7
Aug-19	8.4	8.5	13.6	13.7
Sep-19	8.4	8.3	13.6	13.5
Oct-19	8.4	8.4	13.6	13.7
Nov-19	8.4	8.3	13.6	13.5
Dec-19	8.4	8.3	13.6	13.3
Jan-20	8.5	8.5	13.7	13.8
Feb-20	8.6	8.5	13.8	13.7
Mar-20	8.6	8.7	13.9	13.9
Apr-20		13.6		19.9
May-20		13.3		20.3
Jun-20		11.6		19.0
Jul-20		11.2		18.6
Aug-20		11.1		17.9
Sep-20		11.2		18.1
Oct-20		10.2		17.2
Nov-20		9.3		16.1
Dec-20		8.5		15.1
Jan-21		8.1		14.4
Feb-21		8.4		14.2
Mar-21		7.9		13.5
Apr-21		7.8		13.3
May-21		7.7		12.8
Jun-21		7.9		12.9
Jul-21		8.3		13.0
Aug-21		9.1		13.7
Sep-21		9.1		13.8
Oct-21		9.4		14.6
Nov-21		7.5		12.2
Dec-21		6.7		10.9
Jan-22		6.6		10.7
Feb-22		6.6		10.6
Mar-22		6.3		10.3
Apr-22	6.2	6.2	10.1	10.0
May-22	6.1	6.0	9.9	9.9
Jun-22	6.1	6.1	9.7	9.7
Jul-22	6.0	6.1	9.6	9.6
Aug-22	6.0	6.0	9.5	9.5
Sep-22	6.0	6.0	9.5	9.6
Oct-22	6.1	6.0	9.5	9.5
Nov-22	6.1	5.9	9.6	9.4
Dec-22	6.1	6.2	9.6	9.7
Jan-23	6.1	6.2	9.7	9.8
Feb-23	6.2	5.9	9.8	9.5
Mar-23	6.2	6.2	9.8	9.8
Apr-23	6.3	6.1	9.9	9.8
May-23	6.4	6.5	10.0	10.0
Jun-23	6.5	6.5	10.1	10.0
Jul-23	6.5	6.5	10.1	10.2
Aug-23	6.5	6.6	10.2	10.3
Sep-23	6.5	6.4	10.3	9.9
Oct-23	6.6	6.4	10.3	10.2
Nov-23	6.6	6.6	10.4	10.5
Dec-23	6.6	6.6	10.5	10.6
Jan-24	6.6	6.7	10.5	10.8
Feb-24	6.6	6.6	10.6	10.3
Mar-24	6.6	6.4	10.6	10.3
Apr-24	6.5	6.6	10.5	10.6
May-24	6.5	6.7	10.5	10.7
Jun-24	6.4	6.4	10.5	10.4
Jul-24	6.4	6.3	10.4	10.5
Aug-24	6.3	6.5	10.4	10.6
Sep-24	6.2	6.3	10.3	10.3
Oct-24	6.2	6.2	10.2	10.3
Nov-24	6.1	6.0	10.1	10.0
Dec-24	6.0	6.0	10.0	10.0
Jan-25	5.9	6.0	10.0	10.1
Feb-25	5.9	5.9	10.0	10.0
Mar-25	5.9	5.8	10.0	9.9
Apr-25	5.9	6.0	10.0	10.1
May-25	5.9	5.9	10.1	10.0
Jun-25	5.9	6.0	10.1	10.3
Jul-25	5.9	5.9	10.1	10.1
Aug-25	5.9	5.7	10.2	10.0
Sep-25	5.9	5.9	10.2	10.4
Oct-25	5.9	5.7	10.2	10.0
Nov-25	5.9	6.2	10.2	10.5
Dec-25	5.9	5.7	10.2	9.8
Jan-26	5.9	5.9	10.2	10.0
Feb-26	5.9	5.9	10.2	10.2
Mar-26	5.9	5.9	10.2	10.2
Apr-26	5.9	5.8	10.2	10.3

Underemployment rate and underutilisation rate

["","Underemployment rate - Trend","Underemployment rate - Seasonally adjusted","Underutilisation rate - Trend","Underutilisation rate - Seasonally adjusted"]

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[]

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Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2026.

Participation

In April 2026, the participation rate fell by 0.1ppt to 66.7% in seasonally adjusted terms. The participation rate remained at 70.8% for males and fell by 0.1ppt to 62.8% for females.

Participation rate
	Trend (%)	Seasonally adjusted (%)
Apr-16	65.0	64.9
May-16	64.9	64.8
Jun-16	64.8	64.9
Jul-16	64.8	64.9
Aug-16	64.7	64.6
Sep-16	64.6	64.4
Oct-16	64.6	64.4
Nov-16	64.5	64.6
Dec-16	64.5	64.7
Jan-17	64.5	64.6
Feb-17	64.6	64.5
Mar-17	64.6	64.7
Apr-17	64.7	64.8
May-17	64.9	64.8
Jun-17	65.0	65.0
Jul-17	65.1	65.0
Aug-17	65.1	65.2
Sep-17	65.2	65.2
Oct-17	65.3	65.2
Nov-17	65.3	65.4
Dec-17	65.4	65.6
Jan-18	65.4	65.6
Feb-18	65.4	65.4
Mar-18	65.3	65.4
Apr-18	65.3	65.4
May-18	65.3	65.2
Jun-18	65.3	65.4
Jul-18	65.4	65.3
Aug-18	65.4	65.5
Sep-18	65.4	65.3
Oct-18	65.4	65.4
Nov-18	65.4	65.5
Dec-18	65.5	65.5
Jan-19	65.5	65.6
Feb-19	65.6	65.5
Mar-19	65.6	65.6
Apr-19	65.7	65.8
May-19	65.8	65.7
Jun-19	65.9	65.8
Jul-19	65.9	65.9
Aug-19	65.9	66.0
Sep-19	65.9	66.0
Oct-19	65.8	65.7
Nov-19	65.8	65.6
Dec-19	65.7	65.7
Jan-20	65.7	65.8
Feb-20	65.6	65.6
Mar-20	65.6	65.5
Apr-20		63.3
May-20		62.2
Jun-20		63.7
Jul-20		64.4
Aug-20		64.7
Sep-20		64.6
Oct-20		65.3
Nov-20		65.7
Dec-20		65.8
Jan-21		65.8
Feb-21		65.7
Mar-21		65.9
Apr-21		65.7
May-21		65.8
Jun-21		65.9
Jul-21		65.8
Aug-21		65.0
Sep-21		64.4
Oct-21		64.5
Nov-21		65.8
Dec-21		65.9
Jan-22		66.0
Feb-22		66.2
Mar-22		66.1
Apr-22	66.3	66.2
May-22	66.4	66.3
Jun-22	66.5	66.5
Jul-22	66.5	66.3
Aug-22	66.5	66.5
Sep-22	66.5	66.5
Oct-22	66.5	66.4
Nov-22	66.4	66.6
Dec-22	66.4	66.5
Jan-23	66.5	66.5
Feb-23	66.5	66.4
Mar-23	66.6	66.7
Apr-23	66.6	66.6
May-23	66.6	66.7
Jun-23	66.7	66.7
Jul-23	66.7	66.6
Aug-23	66.7	66.8
Sep-23	66.7	66.5
Oct-23	66.8	66.8
Nov-23	66.8	67.0
Dec-23	66.8	66.7
Jan-24	66.7	66.6
Feb-24	66.7	66.7
Mar-24	66.7	66.5
Apr-24	66.7	66.8
May-24	66.8	66.7
Jun-24	66.9	66.8
Jul-24	66.9	67.1
Aug-24	67.0	67.1
Sep-24	67.0	67.1
Oct-24	67.0	67.0
Nov-24	67.0	66.9
Dec-24	67.0	67.1
Jan-25	67.0	67.2
Feb-25	67.0	66.7
Mar-25	67.0	66.7
Apr-25	66.9	67.1
May-25	66.9	66.9
Jun-25	66.9	67.0
Jul-25	66.9	67.0
Aug-25	66.9	66.8
Sep-25	66.9	66.9
Oct-25	66.8	66.9
Nov-25	66.8	66.6
Dec-25	66.8	66.7
Jan-26	66.8	66.7
Feb-26	66.7	66.8
Mar-26	66.7	66.8
Apr-26	66.7	66.7

Participation rate

["","Trend","Seasonally adjusted"]

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[]

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Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2026.

Hours worked

In April 2026, monthly hours worked in all jobs increased by 15.8 million hours to 2,036 million hours in seasonally adjusted terms.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs
	Trend (m)	Seasonally adjusted (m)
Apr-16	1,657.9	1,627.7
May-16	1,657.5	1,662.5
Jun-16	1,657.4	1,657.3
Jul-16	1,658.0	1,660.9
Aug-16	1,659.5	1,662.6
Sep-16	1,661.8	1,658.7
Oct-16	1,664.9	1,663.1
Nov-16	1,668.4	1,666.4
Dec-16	1,671.7	1,676.5
Jan-17	1,674.7	1,707.7
Feb-17	1,677.9	1,662.4
Mar-17	1,681.7	1,679.9
Apr-17	1,686.2	1,667.1
May-17	1,691.6	1,713.9
Jun-17	1,697.6	1,710.4
Jul-17	1,703.8	1,701.8
Aug-17	1,709.6	1,705.2
Sep-17	1,714.6	1,714.7
Oct-17	1,718.4	1,717.6
Nov-17	1,721.1	1,729.5
Dec-17	1,722.9	1,721.8
Jan-18	1,723.9	1,717.1
Feb-18	1,724.7	1,721.8
Mar-18	1,726.2	1,723.2
Apr-18	1,728.7	1,736.1
May-18	1,731.8	1,729.3
Jun-18	1,735.4	1,737.7
Jul-18	1,738.6	1,738.4
Aug-18	1,741.3	1,740.2
Sep-18	1,743.6	1,742.9
Oct-18	1,746.4	1,751.5
Nov-18	1,750.3	1,749.5
Dec-18	1,755.2	1,746.1
Jan-19	1,760.3	1,764.1
Feb-19	1,764.5	1,766.9
Mar-19	1,767.1	1,775.6
Apr-19	1,768.1	1,769.3
May-19	1,768.0	1,761.8
Jun-19	1,767.4	1,764.1
Jul-19	1,767.4	1,768.2
Aug-19	1,768.8	1,772.8
Sep-19	1,771.3	1,774.2
Oct-19	1,774.1	1,767.6
Nov-19	1,775.9	1,773.4
Dec-19	1,775.5	1,784.9
Jan-20	1,772.7	1,780.0
Feb-20	1,768.4	1,770.2
Mar-20	1,765.1	1,762.9
Apr-20		1,581.2
May-20		1,596.7
Jun-20		1,660.1
Jul-20		1,678.8
Aug-20		1,682.6
Sep-20		1,682.4
Oct-20		1,711.1
Nov-20		1,747.7
Dec-20		1,743.9
Jan-21		1,730.0
Feb-21		1,748.8
Mar-21		1,797.0
Apr-21		1,766.1
May-21		1,799.5
Jun-21		1,772.1
Jul-21		1,771.6
Aug-21		1,701.0
Sep-21		1,722.1
Oct-21		1,719.5
Nov-21		1,789.5
Dec-21		1,822.6
Jan-22		1,741.0
Feb-22		1,813.6
Mar-22		1,813.3
Apr-22	1,833.7	1,821.0
May-22	1,841.0	1,846.3
Jun-22	1,850.0	1,853.5
Jul-22	1,859.9	1,850.0
Aug-22	1,869.9	1,872.2
Sep-22	1,879.7	1,875.6
Oct-22	1,889.5	1,908.9
Nov-22	1,899.3	1,904.6
Dec-22	1,909.1	1,903.8
Jan-23	1,918.0	1,920.7
Feb-23	1,926.2	1,923.6
Mar-23	1,933.4	1,936.6
Apr-23	1,938.4	1,953.2
May-23	1,940.8	1,938.4
Jun-23	1,940.3	1,942.7
Jul-23	1,937.5	1,942.8
Aug-23	1,932.9	1,930.9
Sep-23	1,927.2	1,922.7
Oct-23	1,922.1	1,925.8
Nov-23	1,919.4	1,921.2
Dec-23	1,920.0	1,914.3
Jan-24	1,923.7	1,916.2
Feb-24	1,928.8	1,928.7
Mar-24	1,933.9	1,954.8
Apr-24	1,938.2	1,943.5
May-24	1,941.4	1,935.4
Jun-24	1,943.9	1,941.1
Jul-24	1,947.4	1,946.6
Aug-24	1,952.9	1,959.2
Sep-24	1,960.3	1,961.7
Oct-24	1,967.9	1,956.9
Nov-24	1,973.5	1,973.4
Dec-24	1,976.4	1,982.2
Jan-25	1,977.0	1,981.4
Feb-25	1,976.4	1,977.9
Mar-25	1,975.8	1,971.0
Apr-25	1,976.0	1,965.9
May-25	1,977.5	1,995.7
Jun-25	1,979.8	1,977.0
Jul-25	1,982.1	1,984.1
Aug-25	1,984.5	1,977.0
Sep-25	1,987.2	1,986.9
Oct-25	1,990.4	1,993.3
Nov-25	1,995.1	1,992.6
Dec-25	2,001.1	2,000.3
Jan-26	2,007.8	2,012.5
Feb-26	2,014.7	2,009.7
Mar-26	2,021.6	2,019.9
Apr-26	2,028.4	2,035.7

Monthly hours worked in all jobs

["","Trend","Seasonally adjusted"]

[["Apr-16","May-16","Jun-16","Jul-16","Aug-16","Sep-16","Oct-16","Nov-16","Dec-16","Jan-17","Feb-17","Mar-17","Apr-17","May-17","Jun-17","Jul-17","Aug-17","Sep-17","Oct-17","Nov-17","Dec-17","Jan-18","Feb-18","Mar-18","Apr-18","May-18","Jun-18","Jul-18","Aug-18","Sep-18","Oct-18","Nov-18","Dec-18","Jan-19","Feb-19","Mar-19","Apr-19","May-19","Jun-19","Jul-19","Aug-19","Sep-19","Oct-19","Nov-19","Dec-19","Jan-20","Feb-20","Mar-20","Apr-20","May-20","Jun-20","Jul-20","Aug-20","Sep-20","Oct-20","Nov-20","Dec-20","Jan-21","Feb-21","Mar-21","Apr-21","May-21","Jun-21","Jul-21","Aug-21","Sep-21","Oct-21","Nov-21","Dec-21","Jan-22","Feb-22","Mar-22","Apr-22","May-22","Jun-22","Jul-22","Aug-22","Sep-22","Oct-22","Nov-22","Dec-22","Jan-23","Feb-23","Mar-23","Apr-23","May-23","Jun-23","Jul-23","Aug-23","Sep-23","Oct-23","Nov-23","Dec-23","Jan-24","Feb-24","Mar-24","Apr-24","May-24","Jun-24","Jul-24","Aug-24","Sep-24","Oct-24","Nov-24","Dec-24","Jan-25","Feb-25","Mar-25","Apr-25","May-25","Jun-25","Jul-25","Aug-25","Sep-25","Oct-25","Nov-25","Dec-25","Jan-26","Feb-26","Mar-26","Apr-26"],[[1657.873086],[1657.513781],[1657.375798],[1657.961586],[1659.514714],[1661.833683],[1664.887151],[1668.372302],[1671.677764],[1674.703805],[1677.918593],[1681.681274],[1686.24515],[1691.625653],[1697.595311],[1703.796592],[1709.602477],[1714.63251],[1718.446946],[1721.148719],[1722.89077],[1723.869917],[1724.684435],[1726.246647],[1728.697642],[1731.837519],[1735.437135],[1738.601684],[1741.262742],[1743.583238],[1746.377507],[1750.32566],[1755.203729],[1760.305552],[1764.495552],[1767.08152],[1768.125898],[1768.018746],[1767.376797],[1767.350865],[1768.801163],[1771.333835],[1774.146562],[1775.900599],[1775.525769],[1772.675595],[1768.411652],[1765.110899],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[null],[1833.727462],[1841.021514],[1849.978756],[1859.885249],[1869.907346],[1879.661685],[1889.452966],[1899.298919],[1909.053514],[1918.015368],[1926.241907],[1933.378541],[1938.447707],[1940.828798],[1940.316811],[1937.480145],[1932.893741],[1927.18744],[1922.072321],[1919.361669],[1920.023757],[1923.667131],[1928.835326],[1933.943381],[1938.24071],[1941.397769],[1943.920998],[1947.39017],[1952.913513],[1960.255004],[1967.88315],[1973.467583],[1976.415291],[1976.968849],[1976.357173],[1975.775597],[1976.030423],[1977.459994],[1979.784167],[1982.136078],[1984.487996],[1987.179349],[1990.417839],[1995.061679],[2001.088473],[2007.81495],[2014.749276],[2021.643115],[2028.422796]],[[1627.738222],[1662.517629],[1657.265144],[1660.940017],[1662.567106],[1658.72018],[1663.146948],[1666.368749],[1676.50954],[1707.671765],[1662.436622],[1679.885728],[1667.091748],[1713.910746],[1710.379399],[1701.786752],[1705.238673],[1714.683615],[1717.621424],[1729.503417],[1721.75914],[1717.069802],[1721.838887],[1723.216377],[1736.096356],[1729.274169],[1737.711854],[1738.432222],[1740.194989],[1742.857904],[1751.486097],[1749.472103],[1746.103421],[1764.103583],[1766.92506],[1775.559683],[1769.348137],[1761.817098],[1764.13566],[1768.190799],[1772.777395],[1774.214292],[1767.609497],[1773.425717],[1784.876925],[1779.967559],[1770.218175],[1762.857368],[1581.213415],[1596.670685],[1660.069912],[1678.835359],[1682.576803],[1682.355521],[1711.138572],[1747.706553],[1743.913883],[1730.012158],[1748.776762],[1796.957601],[1766.13474],[1799.540393],[1772.059227],[1771.58671],[1701.022314],[1722.053935],[1719.535967],[1789.491151],[1822.637657],[1741.044517],[1813.574069],[1813.295249],[1821.03934],[1846.272845],[1853.516194],[1850.02002],[1872.160529],[1875.567667],[1908.913718],[1904.570737],[1903.758881],[1920.672439],[1923.591968],[1936.642733],[1953.21941],[1938.350232],[1942.680488],[1942.76768],[1930.860009],[1922.67836],[1925.793638],[1921.213808],[1914.328985],[1916.180532],[1928.688562],[1954.815802],[1943.546444],[1935.409668],[1941.110231],[1946.594057],[1959.24116],[1961.716346],[1956.886166],[1973.437379],[1982.241483],[1981.405479],[1977.862596],[1970.993576],[1965.945304],[1995.65016],[1977.04981],[1984.107043],[1977.032006],[1986.913831],[1993.290349],[1992.581904],[2000.295602],[2012.461321],[2009.663221],[2019.916446],[2035.690333]]]

[]

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Large month-to-month changes occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in multiple trend breaks. The ABS recommends caution when using trend estimates published in spreadsheets in this release for this period. Information on trend breaks can be found in Labour Force, Australia methodology, April 2026.

In seasonally adjusted terms, monthly hours worked in all jobs grew by 0.8%, which was stronger than the 0.1% fall in employment.

Employment and hours worked index (June 2022 = 100), Seasonally adjusted
	Employed (Index)	Hours Worked (Index)
Jun-22	100.0	100.0
Jul-22	100.1	99.8
Aug-22	100.6	101.0
Sep-22	100.7	101.2
Oct-22	100.9	103.0
Nov-22	101.4	102.8
Dec-22	101.4	102.7
Jan-23	101.6	103.6
Feb-23	101.9	103.8
Mar-23	102.5	104.5
Apr-23	102.5	105.4
May-23	103.1	104.6
Jun-23	103.3	104.8
Jul-23	103.3	104.8
Aug-23	103.8	104.2
Sep-23	103.8	103.7
Oct-23	104.2	103.9
Nov-23	104.5	103.7
Dec-23	104.1	103.3
Jan-24	104.1	103.4
Feb-24	104.9	104.1
Mar-24	104.7	105.5
Apr-24	105.0	104.9
May-24	105.2	104.4
Jun-24	105.5	104.7
Jul-24	105.8	105.0
Aug-24	106.1	105.7
Sep-24	106.3	105.8
Oct-24	106.3	105.6
Nov-24	106.5	106.5
Dec-24	106.8	106.9
Jan-25	107.1	106.9
Feb-25	106.5	106.7
Mar-25	106.7	106.3
Apr-25	107.5	106.1
May-25	107.4	107.7
Jun-25	107.3	106.7
Jul-25	107.6	107.0
Aug-25	107.5	106.7
Sep-25	107.6	107.2
Oct-25	107.8	107.5
Nov-25	107.5	107.5
Dec-25	107.9	107.9
Jan-26	108.2	108.6
Feb-26	108.4	108.4
Mar-26	108.6	109.0
Apr-26	108.5	109.8

Employment and hours worked index (June 2022 = 100), Seasonally adjusted

["","Employed","Hours Worked"]

[["Jun-22","Jul-22","Aug-22","Sep-22","Oct-22","Nov-22","Dec-22","Jan-23","Feb-23","Mar-23","Apr-23","May-23","Jun-23","Jul-23","Aug-23","Sep-23","Oct-23","Nov-23","Dec-23","Jan-24","Feb-24","Mar-24","Apr-24","May-24","Jun-24","Jul-24","Aug-24","Sep-24","Oct-24","Nov-24","Dec-24","Jan-25","Feb-25","Mar-25","Apr-25","May-25","Jun-25","Jul-25","Aug-25","Sep-25","Oct-25","Nov-25","Dec-25","Jan-26","Feb-26","Mar-26","Apr-26"],[[100],[100.0663908],[100.5985603],[100.6522745],[100.9453715],[101.4446866],[101.4250868],[101.581479],[101.8743855],[102.5280215],[102.5402517],[103.1259746],[103.2944106],[103.2664056],[103.8040685],[103.7543465],[104.1743103],[104.5297427],[104.1406863],[104.1158417],[104.9085606],[104.7377042],[105.0313931],[105.1749319],[105.4584805],[105.827451],[106.0722723],[106.338905],[106.3299432],[106.4677837],[106.8199358],[107.0503962],[106.5052885],[106.7187156],[107.5310699],[107.3747924],[107.3303378],[107.5802656],[107.4851917],[107.5528067],[107.8021831],[107.5160402],[107.9411971],[108.2331153],[108.4454236],[108.6171595],[108.4800267]],[[100],[99.81137613],[101.0058901],[101.1897103],[102.9887801],[102.7544698],[102.7106689],[103.6231809],[103.7806939],[104.4848024],[105.3791392],[104.5769246],[104.8105484],[104.8152526],[104.1728157],[103.7314034],[103.8994773],[103.6523886],[103.280942],[103.3808357],[104.0556629],[105.465267],[104.8572681],[104.4182767],[104.7258307],[105.0216914],[105.7040217],[105.8375617],[105.5769662],[106.4699292],[106.9449239],[106.8998202],[106.7086763],[106.3380823],[106.0657204],[107.6683423],[106.6648253],[107.0455737],[106.6638647],[107.1970041],[107.5410269],[107.5028052],[107.9189709],[108.5753298],[108.4243681],[108.9775451],[109.8285701]]]

[]

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States and Territories

April 2026 - Seasonally adjusted
	New South Wales	Victoria	Queensland	South Australia	Western Australia	Tasmania	Australia
Employed people	4,535,200	3,787,800	3,028,800	987,600	1,693,500	277,200	14,737,400
Employed people - monthly change	-1.0%	0.1%	-0.2%	-0.6%	0.8%	-0.9%	-0.1%
Employment to population ratio	63.1%	63.7%	64.0%	61.4%	66.3%	56.9%	63.7%
Employment to population ratio - monthly change	-0.7 pts	-0.1 pts	-0.3 pts	-0.5 pts	0.3 pts	-0.6 pts	-0.2 pts
Unemployment rate	4.5%	4.8%	4.2%	4.2%	4.1%	5.0%	4.5%
Unemployment rate - monthly change	0.2 pts	0.0 pts	0.5 pts	0.2 pts	-0.1 pts	0.3 pts	0.2 pts
Underemployment rate	5.5%	6.4%	5.7%	6.1%	5.4%	6.7%	5.8%
Underemployment rate - monthly change	-0.4 pts	0.2 pts	-0.2 pts	-0.8 pts	-0.1 pts	-0.8 pts	-0.1 pts
Participation rate	66.1%	66.9%	66.8%	64.0%	69.2%	59.9%	66.7%
Participation rate - monthly change	-0.6 pts	-0.1 pts	0.1 pts	-0.3 pts	0.3 pts	-0.4 pts	-0.1 pts

Seasonally adjusted estimates for NT and ACT are not available due to having no seasonality. The ABS recommends using trend data.

April 2026 - Trend
	New South Wales	Victoria	Queensland	South Australia	Western Australia	Tasmania	Northern Territory	Australian Capital Territory	Australia
Employed people	4,537,200	3,799,200	3,031,700	990,900	1,689,700	278,900	147,200	278,100	14,753,800
Employed people - monthly change	0.2%	-0.1%	0.2%	-0.1%	0.4%	-0.2%	0.5%	0.3%	0.2%
Employment to population ratio	63.2%	63.9%	64.1%	61.6%	66.2%	57.3%	70.1%	69.3%	63.8%
Employment to population ratio - monthly change	0.0 pts	-0.2 pts	0.0 pts	-0.2 pts	0.1 pts	-0.1 pts	0.2 pts	0.1 pts	0.0 pts
Unemployment rate	4.3%	4.8%	4.2%	4.1%	4.2%	4.8%	4.8%	4.2%	4.3%
Unemployment rate - monthly change	0.1 pts	0.0 pts	0.0 pts	0.1 pts	0.0 pts	0.0 pts	0.0 pts	0.0 pts	0.0 pts
Underemployment rate	5.6%	6.4%	5.8%	6.2%	5.4%	7.0%	3.8%	4.6%	5.9%
Underemployment rate - monthly change	0.0 pts	0.0 pts	-0.1 pts	0.0 pts	0.0 pts	0.0 pts	0.0 pts	0.0 pts	0.0 pts
Participation rate	66.0%	67.1%	66.8%	64.2%	69.1%	60.1%	73.6%	72.3%	66.7%
Participation rate - monthly change	0.1 pts	-0.1 pts	0.0 pts	-0.1 pts	0.1 pts	-0.1 pts	0.2 pts	0.1 pts	0.0 pts

Data downloads

Labour Force status

Data files

Table 001. Labour force status by Sex, Australia - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [750.18 KB]
Table 002. Labour force status by Sex, New South Wales - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [554.32 KB]
Table 003. Labour force status by Sex, Victoria - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [553.77 KB]
Table 004. Labour force status by Sex, Queensland - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [556.03 KB]
Table 005. Labour force status by Sex, South Australia - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [549.99 KB]
Table 006. Labour force status by Sex, Western Australia - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [553.25 KB]
Table 007. Labour force status by Sex, Tasmania - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [552.16 KB]
Table 008. Labour force status by Sex, Northern Territory - Trend and Original
Download xlsx [501.92 KB]
Table 009. Labour force status by Sex, Australian Capital Territory - Trend and Original
Download xlsx [455.51 KB]
Table 010. Labour force status by Sex, State and Territory - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [4.59 MB]
Table 011. Labour force status by Age and Sex - Original
Download xlsx [5.27 MB]
Table 012. Labour force status for 15-19 year olds by Sex - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [621.83 KB]
Table 013. Labour force status for 15-24 year olds by Sex - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [734.24 KB]
Table 014. Labour force status for 15-24 year olds by State, Territory and Educational attendance (full-time)
Download xlsx [2.59 MB]
Table 015. Labour force status for 15-24 year olds by Educational attendance (full-time) and Sex
Download xlsx [837.42 KB]
Table 016. Labour force status for 15-64 year olds by Sex - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [745.67 KB]
LMS1. Labour force status and Gross changes (flows) by Age, Sex, State and Territory (pivot table)
Download xlsx [94.53 MB]
LMS1. Labour force status and Gross changes (flows) by Age, Sex, State and Territory, Historical (pivot table)
Download xlsx [97.36 MB]
LMS2. Labour force status by Age, Greater capital city and rest of state (ASGS) and Sex (pivot table)
Download xlsx [22.22 MB]
LMS3. Labour force status by Age (detailed), Greater capital city and rest of state (ASGS) and Sex (pivot table)
Download xlsx [19.86 MB]
LMS4. Labour force status by Age, Major country group (subcontinent) of birth (SACC), and Sex (pivot table)
Download xlsx [11.82 MB]
LMS5. Labour force status by Elapsed years since arrival, Major country group (subcontinent) of birth (SACC), Sex, State and Territory (pivot table)
Download xlsx [37.26 MB]

Modelled labour market regions (SA4)

MLF1. Modelled estimates of labour force status, by SA4 (ASGS), Age and Sex (Pivot Table)

Data files

Download xlsx [20.07 MB]

Hours worked

Data files

Table 017. Hours worked in all jobs by Employed full-time, part-time and Sex and by State and Territory - Trend and Seasonally adjusted
Download xlsx [270.69 KB]
Table 018. Employed persons by Hours worked in all jobs and Sex
Download xlsx [646.27 KB]
HRS1. Employed persons by Hours worked in all jobs, State and Territory (pivot table)
Download xlsx [3.65 MB]
HRS2. Employed persons by Hours worked in all jobs, Age and Sex (pivot table)
Download xlsx [9.71 MB]

Status in employment

Data files

Table 019. Status in employment of main job and Sex
Download xlsx [356.38 KB]
SEM1. Status in employment of main job by hours worked in all jobs, sex, and state (pivot table)
Download xlsx [35.42 MB]

Underemployment and underutilisation

Data files

Table X28. Underutilised persons by State and Territory and Sex - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [6.62 MB]
Table X29. Underutilised persons by Age and Sex - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original
Download xlsx [5.28 MB]

All spreadsheets

Data files

Download zip [372.92 MB]

Data Explorer datasets

Data in the Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the time period when using Data Explorer.

Labour Force status by Sex, State and Territory - Number of people employed, unemployed and not in the labour force, monthly, February 1978 onwards.

Labour Force monthly hours worked by Sex, State and Territory - Monthly hours worked by employed people, monthly, July 1978 onwards.

Labour Force status by Age Groups - Number of people employed, unemployed and not in the labour force, monthly, February 1978 onwards.

Labour Force Educational Attendance - Educational attendance (Full Time) for 15-24 year olds by State, Territory and Sex, monthly, April 1986 onwards.

For information on Data Explorer and how it works, see the Data Explorer user guide.

APA

Labour Force, Australia

APA

Key statistics

Main features

Modernising the Labour Force Survey

Survey impacts and changes

Labour Force Modernisation

Rotation group analysis

Survey dates

Annual Series Review

Employment

Employment-to-population ratio

Unemployment

Underemployment

Participation

Hours worked

States and Territories

Data downloads

Labour Force status

Table 001. Labour force status by Sex, Australia - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table 002. Labour force status by Sex, New South Wales - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table 003. Labour force status by Sex, Victoria - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table 004. Labour force status by Sex, Queensland - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table 005. Labour force status by Sex, South Australia - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table 006. Labour force status by Sex, Western Australia - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table 007. Labour force status by Sex, Tasmania - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table 008. Labour force status by Sex, Northern Territory - Trend and Original

Table 009. Labour force status by Sex, Australian Capital Territory - Trend and Original

Table 010. Labour force status by Sex, State and Territory - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table 011. Labour force status by Age and Sex - Original

Table 012. Labour force status for 15-19 year olds by Sex - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table 013. Labour force status for 15-24 year olds by Sex - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table 014. Labour force status for 15-24 year olds by State, Territory and Educational attendance (full-time)

Table 015. Labour force status for 15-24 year olds by Educational attendance (full-time) and Sex

Table 016. Labour force status for 15-64 year olds by Sex - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

LMS1. Labour force status and Gross changes (flows) by Age, Sex, State and Territory (pivot table)

LMS1. Labour force status and Gross changes (flows) by Age, Sex, State and Territory, Historical (pivot table)

LMS2. Labour force status by Age, Greater capital city and rest of state (ASGS) and Sex (pivot table)

LMS3. Labour force status by Age (detailed), Greater capital city and rest of state (ASGS) and Sex (pivot table)

LMS4. Labour force status by Age, Major country group (subcontinent) of birth (SACC), and Sex (pivot table)

LMS5. Labour force status by Elapsed years since arrival, Major country group (subcontinent) of birth (SACC), Sex, State and Territory (pivot table)

Modelled labour market regions (SA4)

MLF1. Modelled estimates of labour force status, by SA4 (ASGS), Age and Sex (Pivot Table)

Hours worked

Table 017. Hours worked in all jobs by Employed full-time, part-time and Sex and by State and Territory - Trend and Seasonally adjusted

Table 018. Employed persons by Hours worked in all jobs and Sex

HRS1. Employed persons by Hours worked in all jobs, State and Territory (pivot table)

HRS2. Employed persons by Hours worked in all jobs, Age and Sex (pivot table)

Status in employment

Table 019. Status in employment of main job and Sex

SEM1. Status in employment of main job by hours worked in all jobs, sex, and state (pivot table)

Underemployment and underutilisation

Table X28. Underutilised persons by State and Territory and Sex - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

Table X29. Underutilised persons by Age and Sex - Trend, Seasonally adjusted and Original

All spreadsheets

All spreadsheets

Data Explorer datasets

Article archive

Understanding the labour force

Employment and jobs

Unemployment and underemployment

Hours worked

Regional estimates

LFS content and output

Methodology

Previous catalogue number

Methodology

Media releases

Unemployment rate rises to 4.5% in April

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