Australia’s unemployment rate remains low

 Australia’s labour market continued to display resilience in March, despite ongoing global challenges like the conflict in the Middle East. 

The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a record number of Australians were employed in March, with the unemployment rate remaining low at 4.3 per cent.

Employment increased by 17,900 in March, with a record 14,767,700 Australians in work. 

There are now 258,800 more Australians in employment than a year ago.

The participation rate fell slightly in March, to 66.8 per cent, but remains close to its record high, showing Australians are staying engaged in work or job-seeking.

Quotes Attributable to Amanda Rishworth, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations:

"There is a lot happening globally, including the situation in the Middle East, but today’s March figures show Australia has entered the challenges of ongoing international uncertainty from a position of strength.

“A record number of Australians are in jobs, unemployment remains low and participation is near a record high.

“Women’s participation also remains high, and a record number of women are in work. That’s good for families, communities and the economy.

“We know Australians are still doing it tough, which is why we are focused on creating more jobs and lifting wages.”

Quotes attributable to Treasurer Jim Chalmers:

“This is a dangerous time for the global economy, but these figures confirm we still have low unemployment and that’s a good thing.  

“We are not immune from the impacts of this conflict on the other side of the word, but we confront them from a position of relative strength in large part due to our resilient labour market.   

“It is encouraging to see the unemployment rate remain at 4.3 per cent despite all of the uncertainty in the global economy right now.

“More than 1.2 million jobs have been created since we were elected, with four out of five in the private sector, at the same time as we have seen very high participation, solid wage growth, and stronger economic growth than every major advanced economy. 

“All of the global economic uncertainty we are seeing in the world right now is informing our thinking ahead of next month’s Budget, but these figures show we have strong economic foundations to confront the challenges ahead."

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