MEDIA RELEASE
20 December 2018	Embargo: 11:30 am (Canberra Time)

Australia's trend unemployment rate fell from 5.2 per cent to 5.1 per cent in November 2018, according to the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said: "The continued decrease in the trend unemployment rate to 5.1 per cent coincides with the highest trend participation rate ever."

Employment and hours

In November 2018, trend employment increased by 28,800 persons. Full-time employment increased by 19,300 persons and part-time employment increased by 9,500 persons.

Over the past year, trend employment increased by 295,700 persons (2.4 per cent) which was above the average year-on-year growth over the past 20 years (2.0 per cent).

The trend monthly hours worked increased by 0.2 per cent in November 2018 and by 1.9 per cent over the past year. This is slightly above the 20 year average year on year growth of 1.7 per cent.

The monthly trend underemployment rate increased by less than 0.1 percentage points to 8.4% and the monthly underutilisation rate remained steady at 13.5 per cent.

States and territories

This month, the trend unemployment rate decreased in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, increased in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and remained steady in all other states.

Seasonally adjusted data

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 5.1 per cent in November 2018. The seasonally adjusted number of persons employed increased by 37,000 persons.

The net movement of employed in both trend and seasonally adjusted terms is underpinned by well over 300,000 people entering employment, and more than 300,000 leaving employment in the month.

More details are in the November 2018 issue of Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0). In addition, further information, including regional labour market information, can be found in the upcoming November 2018 issue of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed - Electronic Delivery (cat. no. 6291.0.55.001), due for release on 21 December 2018. Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, Quarterly (cat. no. 6291.0.55.003), which includes employment by industry, is also due for release on 21 December.

These publications are available for free download (after release) from the ABS website: https://www.abs.gov.au.


Media note:

• When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) must be attributed as the source.
• For media requests and interviews, contact the ABS Media Team on 1300 175 070 or media@abs.gov.au (8.30am - 5pm Monday - Friday AEST).
• Subscribe to our email notification service and get media releases or products sent to you on release.
• The ABS produces trend estimates to provide a more reliable indicator of the underlying behaviour of the Labour Force series. Trend estimates were introduced into the Labour Force series in the mid 1980s and are available back to February 1978. Trend estimates are considered the best indicators of the underlying behaviour in the labour market. See paragraphs 28 to 37 of the Explanatory Notes in Labour Force, Australia (cat. no. 6202.0).
• Labour Force Survey data is complemented by other ABS measures to build a comprehensive picture of the labour market. Jobs in Australia data provides insights into all jobs held throughout the year.
• Labour Accounts data provides the number of filled jobs at a point-in-time each quarter, while Labour Force data measures the number of people employed each month.