Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.7% in September, unchanged from an upwardly revised figure in August and above expectations of 4.6%. It was the highest since October 2021, with the number of unemployed increasing by 8,900 to 732,000, the highest since April 2021. Full-time job seekers rose by 17,600 to 499,400, while part-time job seekers fell by 8,600 to 232,700. Meanwhile, employment unexpectedly fell by 39,300 to 14.78 million, defying expectations of a 20,000 rise, after a downward revision of the August increase of 29,300 jobs. Part-time employment declined by 73,700 to 4.55 million, while full-time employment increased by 34,400 to 10.23 million. The participation rate edged down to 66.8% from 67.0% in August, coming in below expectations and reaching its lowest level in four months. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate inched up to 6.3% from 6.2% in August, while total monthly hours worked across all jobs increased by 1 million to 2.011 billion. source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Unemployment Rate in Australia increased to 4.70 percent in September from 4.60 percent in August of 2026. Unemployment Rate in Australia averaged 6.49 percent from 1978 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 11.20 percent in December of 1992 and a record low of 3.40 percent in October of 2022. This page provides - Australia Unemployment Rate at 5.8% in December - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. Australia Unemployment Rate - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on October of 2026.

Unemployment Rate in Australia increased to 4.70 percent in September from 4.60 percent in August of 2026. Unemployment Rate in Australia is expected to be 4.70 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the Australia Unemployment Rate is projected to trend around 4.80 percent in 2027 and 4.50 percent in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-09-24 01:30 AM
Unemployment Rate
Aug 4.6% 4.5% 4.5% 4.5%
2026-10-15 12:30 AM
Unemployment Rate
Sep 4.7% 4.7% 4.6% 4.6%
2026-11-19 12:30 AM
Unemployment Rate
Oct 4.7%


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Employed Persons 14782.70 14822.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Employment Change -39329.00 29282.00 Persons Sep 2026
Employment Rate 63.60 63.90 percent Sep 2026
Full Time Employment Chg 34385.00 -4020.00 Persons Sep 2026
Job Vacancies 325.00 329.50 Thousand Sep 2026
Participation Rate 66.80 67.00 percent Sep 2026
Labour Costs 109.90 108.60 points Jun 2026
Part Time Employment Chg -73714.00 33303.00 Persons Sep 2026
Population 27.80 27.40 Million Dec 2025
Productivity 99.70 99.70 points Jun 2026
Unemployed Persons 732.00 723.10 Thousand Sep 2026
Unemployment Rate 4.70 4.70 percent Sep 2026
Wage Price Index YoY 3.20 3.20 percent Jun 2026
Wages 1579.20 1562.40 AUD/Week Jun 2026
Wages in Manufacturing 1762.60 1770.30 AUD/Week Jun 2026
Youth Unemployment Rate 11.10 10.90 percent Sep 2026


Australia Unemployment Rate
In Australia, the unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
4.70 4.70 11.20 3.40 1978 - 2026 percent Monthly
SA

News Stream
Australia Jobless Rate Holds at Nearly 5-Year High
Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 4.7% in September, unchanged from an upwardly revised figure in August and above expectations of 4.6%. It was the highest since October 2021, with the number of unemployed increasing by 8,900 to 732,000, the highest since April 2021. Full-time job seekers rose by 17,600 to 499,400, while part-time job seekers fell by 8,600 to 232,700. Meanwhile, employment unexpectedly fell by 39,300 to 14.78 million, defying expectations of a 20,000 rise, after a downward revision of the August increase of 29,300 jobs. Part-time employment declined by 73,700 to 4.55 million, while full-time employment increased by 34,400 to 10.23 million. The participation rate edged down to 66.8% from 67.0% in August, coming in below expectations and reaching its lowest level in four months. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate inched up to 6.3% from 6.2% in August, while total monthly hours worked across all jobs increased by 1 million to 2.011 billion.
2026-10-15
Australia Jobless Rate Highest Since 2021
Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged up to 4.6% in August, above both market expectations and July’s 4.5%. It was the highest since November 2021, with the number of unemployed rising by 28,200 to 722,900, the highest since April 2021. Meanwhile, employment increased by 39,500 to 14.84 million, well above expectations for a 20,000 rise, following an upwardly revised decline of 15,900 jobs in July. Part-time employment rose by 45,800 to 4.64 million, while full-time employment fell by 6,300 to 10.19 million. The participation rate edged up to 67.1%, above expectations and July’s 66.9%, reaching its highest level since April 2025. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate eased to 6.2% from 6.3% in July, while total monthly hours worked across all jobs increased by 14 million to 2.009 billion.
2026-09-24
Australia Jobless Rate Above Forecasts
Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment edged up to 4.5% in July, surpassing both market expectations and June’s figure of 4.4%. The latest reading was the same as April’s figure, which was the highest since November 2021. The number of unemployed increased by 4,200 to 691,500 from 687,400 in June, with the number of full-time employed people advancing by 6,100 to 462,900, while the number of part-time employed people dropped by 1,900 to 228,700. Employment fell unexpectedly by 15,800 to 14.81 million, defying expectations for a 15,000 increase, following an upwardly revised gain of 80,300 jobs in June, marking the first decline in three months. Part-time employment dropped by 32,200 to a three-month low of 4.60 million, while full-time employment increased by 16,300 to 10.21 million. The participation rate inched down to 66.9%, in line with expectations. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate stood at 6.4%, unchanged from a downwardly revised figure in June.
2026-08-20