"Since December 2015 we have seen a continued decline in trend full-time employment and an increase in part-time employment, with a corresponding increase in the share of hours worked by part-time workers".
- Jacqui Jones, Bureau's labour and income branch
The unemployment rate has remained steady at 5.6%, despite the creation of nearly 10,000 jobs in October, since workforce participation dropped to a decade low. The jobs growth was spurred by 41,500 extra full-time positions while the seasonally adjusted estimates point to 31,700 part-time jobs being shed. In comparison, part-time employment has advanced by 132,700, with its share of overall employment increasing from 31.1% to 32%. Meanwhile, economists have said wages are growing so slowly in Australia because the demand for labour, and the composition of labour, remains insufficient to make wages rise in a significant way. On a gender-basis, the unemployment rate slipped to 5.52% for males, registering the lowest level since February 2013, while that among females remained unchanged at 5.64%. Labor force participation, in turn, held steady at 64.4%, courtesy of a downward revision to the September figure which was previously reported at 64.5%.
In the meantime, the employment report remains a major indicator for the policy moves by the Reserve Bank of Australia and the November jobs data will be eyed closely before the next monetary policy meeting scheduled to be held in mid-December.
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