Member Login
Economics update | 16 June 2023
16 Jun 2023
Robust increase in employment
ABS Labour Force data released yesterday shows strong employment growth of almost 76,000 in May, taking the number of people employed above 14 million, a record high. This also pushed unemployment back down to 3.6 per cent.
This strong growth in employment is driven mainly by full-time employment, up 60,700, while part-time employment rose by 14,300. Over the past year 465,500 jobs have been added, with over 80 per cent of these being full-time. The participation rate rose to 66.9 per cent, with female participation achieving an all-time high at 62.6 per cent, while the male participation rate remained unchanged at 71.2 per cent.
While underemployment edged up 0.2 percentage points to 6.4 per cent, it remains substantially lower than the average of 8.4 per cent in the five years prior to the pandemic. Hours worked also decreased, down 1.8 per cent, following a 2.7 per cent increase in April. However, despite the decline in May, hours worked, have shown very strong growth over the past year, up over 88 million hours or almost 5 per cent over the past year.
Overall, the May data suggests the labour market is continuing to tighten. Businesses can expect it to remain challenging to hire new workers in the year ahead.
Related Posts
Workplace Relations
26/07/2024
Modern Awards – Casual Employment Term Last week, the Fair Work Commission President, Justice Hatcher, made a statement announcing proceedings on the Commission’s own initiative to determine...
Workplace Relations
19/07/2024
Modern Awards Review The Fair Work Commission published its report on the Modern Awards Review 2023-24 yesterday, along with a statement from Fair Work Commission President, Justice Adam Hatcher,...
Small Business
19/07/2024
Small Business Survey The Small Business Committee met this week, and members received a briefing on the results of the Small Business Survey ahead of...
Trade
19/07/2024
There is still time to join the next ACCI Trade Policy Committee on 1 August, at 2:00 pm AEST, featuring special guest speaker George Mina. ...
Tourism
19/07/2024
Sustainable Aviation Fuel submission Australian Chamber - Tourism made a submission to the government's consultation on low-carbon liquid fuels this week. The submission outlines the...
Employment & Skills
19/07/2024
Apprenticeship Incentives Review The 'What We Heard' summary paper from the Strategic Review of the Australian Apprenticeship Incentive System was released this week. The critical...
Economics
19/07/2024
Unemployment rate slightly up Labour force statistics released this week highlight that the unemployment rate increased slightly from 4 per cent in May to 4.1 per cent...
Workplace Relations
12/07/2024
Right to Disconnect The President of the Fair Work Commission, Justice Adam Hatcher, has published a statement and the draft modern award term for the...
Trade and International Affairs
12/07/2024
ACCI Trade Committee Meeting The next ACCI Trade Policy Committee will feature special guest speaker George Mina, followed by a short Q&A session. George is...
Data, Digital and Cyber
12/07/2024
Upcoming forum meeting The Data, Digital & Cyber (DDC) Forum will hold a meeting on Wednesday 17th July from 10:30am to 12pm AEST. Please contact Ross Creelman for more information.
Small Business
12/07/2024
Upcoming committee meeting The next meeting of the Small Business Committee will be held online on Friday, 19 July from 10:30 am-11:30 AEST. The meeting...
Work, Health and Safety
12/07/2024
Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations Tony Burke has endorsed ACCI's nomination of Jennifer Low, director of health, safety, resilience, and digital policy, to the...
Economics
12/07/2024
Productivity Commission report on economic mobility The Productivity Commission report on economic mobility released this week shows that, on average, Australia’s long-term economic growth has led...
Employment and Skills
12/07/2024
New NCVER data release: Government-funded students and courses 2023 According to the recent National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) release, an estimated 7.1 per cent...
Trade and International
5/07/2024
ACCI Trade Committee Meeting Join us at the next ACCI Trade Committee on Thursday, 1 August, at 2:00 pm AEST. This meeting will feature a...
Small Business
5/07/2024
Payment times reforms pass Amendments to the Payment Times Reporting Act 2020 passed Parliament this week. The amendments implement recommendations made through the Statutory Review conducted by Dr Craig...
Work, Health & Safety
5/07/2024
Engineered stone ban is now in effect The prohibition on the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs commenced on...
Energy
5/07/2024
Nature Positive Bill introduced The Nature Positive Bill was introduced to Parliament this week. This Bill establishes a new Environment Protection Agency (EPA) responsible for...
Economics
5/07/2024
Future Made in Australia The Future Made in Australia Bill 2024 and Future Made in Australia (Omnibus Amendments No. 1) Bill 2024 was tabled in...
Workplace Relations
5/07/2024
Changes from 1 July From 1 July (last Monday) a series of changes have taken place in the workplace relations system. Employers must be aware...