Australian April employment report fails to meet expectations

Australia employment change s.a. came in at +10.8K in April, below forecasts of +12k, with the unemployment rate s.a. at 5.7% vs forecasts of 5.8% and 5.7% last. Fulltime employment stood at -9.3k vs previous -8.8K, while part-time employment rose by 20.2 from previous -34.9k. Participation rate was 64.8% vs expected 64.9 and prior of 64.9%.

Key points

TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

Employment increased 4,100 to 11,910,800.

Unemployment decreased 1,900 to 726,600.

Unemployment rate decreased by less than 0.1 pts to 5.7%.

Participation rate decreased by 0.1 pts to 64.9%.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs decreased 5.6 million hours to 1,628.9 million hours.


SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

Employment increased 10,800 to 11,917,200. Full-time employment decreased 9,300 to 8,165,600 and part-time employment increased 20,200 to 3,751,600.

Unemployment increased 400 to 723,300. The number of unemployed persons looking for full-time work remained steady at 515,000 and the number of unemployed persons only looking for part-time work increased 400 to 208,200.

Unemployment rate remained steady at 5.7%.

Participation rate decreased by less than 0.1 pts to 64.8%.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs decreased 17.9 million hours to 1,613.8 million hours.