Australian unemployment rate in August was 6.1 per cent

IN WELCOME news for the economy, the unemployment rate dropped in August with 120,000 new jobs added to the market.

AUSTRALIA’S unemployment rate fell to 6.1 per cent in August, official figures show.

Unemployment in July was unchanged at 6.4 per cent. The total number of people with jobs rose 121,000 to 11.704 million in August, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

The unemployment rate was expected to fall to 6.3 per cent in August, with 10,000 jobs added to the economy, according to an AAP survey of 11 economists.

Full-time employment rose 14,300 to 8.094 million in August and part-time employment was up 106,700 to 3.609 million.

The participation rate — those that have a job, are looking for work or are ready to start work — rose to 65.2 per cent, from 64.8 per cent in July.

By state, the jobless figures were:

NSW — 5.7 per cent, down from 5.9 per cent

VIC — 6.8 per cent, down from 7.0 per cent

QLD — 6.7 per cent, down from 6.8 per cent

SA — 5.9 per cent, down from 7.2 per cent

WA — 5.0 per cent, down from 5.2 per cent

TAS — 7.1 per cent, down from 7.6 per cent

Meanwhile, Seek reported a 3.5 per cent increase in job ads in August, led by non-mining sectors.

Originally published as Australian unemployment rate in August was 6.1 per cent