Stats released by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that Australia’s unemployment rate has now fallen to 5.6 from 5.8 per cent last month.
Seasonally adjusted employment increased by 71,000 people between February and March 2021, according to ABS data.
Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said this latest data showed continued recovery in the labour market into March 2021, with hours worked higher than March 2020, for the first time during the COVID period.
“Employment and hours worked in March 2021 were both higher than March 2020, up by 0.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent.”
According to the ABS, women’s participation in the workforce has now reached a record high.
“The proportion of women employed was the highest it’s ever been [at] 58.5 per cent, half a percentage point higher than in March 2020, while the proportion of men employed remained slightly lower than before the pandemic,” Mr Jarvis said.
Western Australia recorded strong growth from lockdowns in the first week of February, with a 2.4 per cent (33,000 people) increase in employment, and a 9.2 per cent increase in hours worked – the strongest across all states and territories.
Prior to the release of the official figures, Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn said CBA’s economics team is expecting a print of 5.6 per cent today.
This is then expected to fall to 5 per cent by the end of this calendar year, and to 4.7 per cent by the end of 2022.
There is significant cause for optimism.
“The recovery in the labour market is, in one word, miraculous,” Mr Comyn said.
However, the data was collected during the first half of March, prior to the end of JobKeeper on 28 March.
“The April Labour Force release, along with weekly payroll jobs data, will show the state of the labour market after the end of JobKeeper,” Mr Jarvis concluded.
About the author
