Australia’s unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in September 2025 (+0.2 pts MoM), while employment increased slightly by +14.9k (+0.1% MoM), reflecting a steady but cooling labor market.

• The number of unemployed people climbed +33.9k MoM to 684k (+12.6% YoY), indicating a rise in jobseekers despite modest employment growth.

• Total employment reached 14.64 million (+190.5k YoY, +1.3%), with full-time employment up +8.7k and part-time up +6.3k.

• The participation rate edged up +0.1 pts MoM to 67.0%, while the employment-to-population ratio remained steady at 64.0%.

• The underemployment rate increased +0.2 pts MoM to 5.9%, suggesting slightly more part-time workers seeking additional hours.

• Total monthly hours worked rose +9 million (+0.5% MoM) to 1.987 billion, up +28 million (+1.4%) from a year earlier, reflecting stable overall labor input.

Australia’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.2% (vs 4.2% expected) in August 2025, as employment edged down -5.4k MoM (vs +22k expected) but remained up +217.2k YoY, reflecting modest softness in full-time positions alongside stronger part-time gains.

• Employment stood at 14.63 million, down -5,400 MoM but up +1.5% YoY (+217,200). The fall was led by -40.9k in full-time jobs, partly offset by +35.5k part-time gains.

• The unemployed population fell -900 MoM to 647,400, leaving the unemployment rate unchanged at 4.2%. On an annual basis, unemployment rose +28.1k (+4.5%).

• Participation dipped -0.1 pts MoM to 66.8%, and was -0.2 pts lower than a year earlier, showing a slightly smaller share of people active in the labour force.

• The underemployment rate eased -0.1 pts MoM to 5.7%, a -0.8 pts improvement YoY, indicating fewer workers wanted more hours compared with last year.

• Monthly hours worked fell -8 million MoM (-0.4%) to 1.98 billion, though still up +20 million YoY (+1.0%), suggesting modest growth in overall labour input compared with 2024.