More than one million Australians out of work as unemployment rate edges up to 7.5%
More than one million Australians are now out of work, according to the latest labour force data, which shows the unemployment rate is now 7.5%.
Even though seasonally adjusted employment increased by 114,700 people between June and July, and hours worked increased 1.3%, the unemployment rate in July edged up from 7.4% in June.
The survey was completed before Victoria implemented the stage four lockdown in an effort to contain a second wave of coronavirus infections in the state, so the monthly result is likely more rosy than the current reality.
Full-time employment increased by 43,500 people in the month, and part-time employment by 71,200 people. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says compared with 12 months ago, there are 282,800 fewer people employed full-time, and 131,700 fewer employed part-time.
As well as the increase in employment, participation in July increased 0.6% to 64.7% in July 2020. Female participation increased 0.7% to 59.9%, and male participation increased 0.5% to 69.6%.
The current unemployment rate of 7.5% is more than two points higher than the result a year ago. The number of unemployed people increased by 15,700 in July, which pushed the number of jobless people north of one million.
An analysis of hours worked by the ABS notes that since the low point in May, total hours worked in Australia have increased by 88 million, recovering almost half of the 186 million decrease recorded between March and May. But the bureau notes that hours worked in July were still 5.5% lower than hours worked in March.
Underemployment improved during the month. The underemployment rate decreased by 0.5% to 11.2%.
The employment minister, Michaelia Cash, said the result underscored the reality Australia was still living with Covid-19. “That is our reality as a society, and we do need to live in a Covid-safe manner”.
“But what the labour force figures for July also show us is that, when we can get the health crisis under control, when we ease those restrictions on our economy, you will see jobs returning back to the economy, and that is a good thing,” she said.
Unemployment in Victoria dropped from 7.5% in June to 6.8% in July. Cash noted the positive moment occurred before the stage four lockdown. “But what it does show you again is, as Victoria was easing restrictions, they were seeing job creation”.
