By Poppy Johnston, AAP
The jobless rate has sunk back to 3.6 per cent, marking another month of ultra-low unemployment.
The official labour force data also shows around 76,000 jobs were added to the economy in May.
“With employment increasing by around 76,000 people and the number of unemployed decreasing by 17,000 people, the unemployment rate fell to 3.6 per cent,” Australian Bureau of Statistics head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.
“The strong growth in employment in May followed a small decrease in April, around Easter, when employment fell by more than it usually would over the holiday period.”
The participation rate increased 0.1 percentage point to 66.9 per cent.
The unemployment rate was tipped in consensus forecasts to stay unchanged at 3.7 per cent, while a 17,500 lift in the number of jobs was pencilled in.
The May result follows 14 months of unemployment rates below four per cent and an intense period of competition for workers to fill empty roles.
But an aggressive string of interest rate rises is expected to take some heat out of the jobs market.
While the Reserve Bank is trying to return too-high inflation to target and keep as many people employed as possible, it is also hoping to see the jobs market loosen up.
That’s because its interest rate rises are supposed to cool the economy and take pressure off prices.
Treasury foresees the jobless rate drifting up to 4.5 per cent in 2024/25 before sinking back to 4.25 by 2026/27.
