Australian Unemployment Rate Reaches 4.7 Per Cent in September, ABS Reports

Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.7 per cent in September, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Sean Crick, the ABS head of labour statistics, reported that the number of employed individuals decreased by 39,000 during the month, while the number of unemployed people increased by 9,000. These shifts contributed to a 0.3 percentage point decrease in the employment-to-population ratio to 63.6 per cent and a 0.2 percentage point drop in the participation rate to 66.8 per cent.

According to Crick, a higher proportion of people remained unemployed in September compared to recent years, following a trend from the previous month where more individuals moved from outside the labour force into unemployment.

The seasonally adjusted underemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to reach 6.3 per cent. Total hours worked increased by 0.1 per cent over the month, driven by a 0.4 per cent rise in full-time hours, while part-time hours worked declined by 1.5 per cent. On an annual basis, employment grew by 1.2 per cent and hours worked increased by 1.3 per cent.

In trend terms, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.6 per cent. Trend employment expanded by 0.1 per cent, and hours worked remained flat. The trend underemployment rate held at 6.3 per cent, while the underutilisation rate saw a marginal increase to 11.0 per cent.

The ABS noted that it has introduced a new Supplementary Survey collection model aimed at removing historical survey effects previously seen in February and August Labour Force data. The bureau stated there may be a small residual impact on the September 2026 seasonally adjusted figures and recommended using trend data as the best indicator of underlying labour market conditions.

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