Australia’s unemployment rate falls to lowest level in more than 13 years

The result largely beat market expectations, which expected a drop to 4.1 per cent.

The last time unemployment sat at 4 per cent was in August 2008.

Australia’s unemployment rate has never fallen below 4 per cent since records began in 1978.

Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said today’s figures broke a number of records.

“With employment increasing by 77,000 people and unemployment falling by 19,000, the unemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points, to 4.0 per cent,” Mr Jarvis said.

“This is the lowest unemployment rate since August 2008 and only the third time in the history of the monthly survey when unemployment was as low as 4.0 per cent (February 2008, August 2008, February 2022).”

“Lower unemployment rates occurred in the series before November 1974, when the survey was quarterly.”

Mr Jarvis said of particular note was the unemployment rate for women, which is at its lowest rate in almost half a century.

“The 3.8 per cent unemployment rate for women was the lowest since May 1974,” he said.

“Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for men fell to 4.2 per cent, its second lowest level since November 2008 and just above the rate from December 2021 of 4.1 per cent.”