"There are now 130,000 more persons working part-time than in December 2015, while the number working full-time has decreased by 54,100 persons".
- Jacqui Jones, Labour and Income Branch
According to the data, Australia's jobless rate went down in September from August since fewer people were looking for work. The unemployment rate dropped to a seasonally adjusted 5.6% from a revised 5.7% in August. Unemployment rate remains steady, despite the loss of 9,800 jobs, as the proportion of people looking for work tumbled. Meanwhile, economists, in turn, had expected 15,000 jobs to be added, but unemployment to tick up to 5.7% on a recovery in the participation rate.
In the meantime, monthly hours worked in all occupations advanced by 4 million hours to 1,660.0 million hours, data showed. Part-time employment has a been a major driver of overall job gains this year. Part-time work has added 130,000 since December. At the same time, there are 54,100 fewer workers employed in full-time positions. After the data was announced, the Australian dollar reversed gains immediately, falling 0.1% to 0.7702 USD. Moreover, the Aussie has skyrocketed this week to seven-month highs, as commodity currencies benefited from the latest surge in oil prices.
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