Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased by 0.2% to 3.7% in August when compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

When compared to the previous month, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate saw no change.

The number of unemployed persons totalled 540,500 in August 2023, an increase of 42,600 over the year (8.5%). Over the month, it fell by 2,600, or down 0.5%.

By states, the highest seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was seen in Tasmania (4.4%), followed by the Northern Territory (4.3%). The lowest was in the Australian Capital Territory (3.1%).

The data also found that the number of employed people increased by 3.0% over the year by 410,700 to a total of 14,107,900. Over the month, the increase stood at 0.5%, or 64,900.

Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics, said "With employment increasing by around 65,000 people and the number of unemployed only dropping slightly, by around 3,000 people, the unemployment rate remained at 3.7% in August.”

“The large increase in employment in August came after a small drop in July, around the school holiday period. Looking over the past two months, the average employment growth was around 32,000 people per month, which is similar to the average growth over the past year,” Jarvis said.

According to The Guardian, the increase in employment was more than expected, improving the prospects that the economy will avoid a hard landing but also raising the possibility the Reserve Bank may hike interest rates again.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate in Australia also stood at 3.5%, up 0.2% over the year and unchanged over the month. The total number of unemployed persons rose 8.8% over the year and 1.3% over the month, to 539,700.

Australia’s labour force participation rate stood at 67.0%, up 0.3% over the year and 0.1% over the month.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs fell by -0.5% over the month and was up 3.7% over the year.