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.