Australia jobs February: Employment falls by | Australian Markets

Australia’s outstanding run of sturdy jobs information hit a wall in February, with employment falling by nearly 53,000 positions.

However the unemployment charge remained at 4.1 per cent, in accordance with seasonally adjusted Australian Bureau of Statistics figures launched on Thursday.

Each employment and unemployment fell as a important quantity of Australians left the roles market — that means they’re no longer in search of work or working.

ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis mentioned fewer older staff returned to jobs in February.

“This follows higher levels of employment in these age groups in recent years, particularly in 2024, alongside growth in the employment-to-population ratio over the last few years,” Mr Jarvis mentioned.

“In contrast, we continue to see growth in employment for people aged between 15 and 54 over the year.”

The market continues to be a lot stronger than earlier than the pandemic, nevertheless.

The latest jobs information got here simply hours after the US Federal Reserve stored rates of interest on maintain and mentioned “economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace”. America’s jobs market had additionally stabilised, the Fed mentioned.

Australian financial markets decide a charge discount on the Reserve Financial institution’s assembly on April 1 might be unlikely, with simply an 8 per cent probability of a cut.

However debtors got a dose of aid in February when the RBA lowered the money charge by 25 foundation factors to 4.1 per cent.

Extra than 440,000 jobs had been created by means of 2024 and the sturdy employment market has made the RBA cautious about slicing charges too fast.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers will subsequent week convey down his fourth Finances forward of an election due by Might.

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