In December, Australia faced a notable increase in unemployment, with rates climbing to 9.7%, an addition of 180,000 unemployed individuals, bringing the total to 1,542,000, Roy Morgan reported.
This rise in “real” unemployment was primarily due to a substantial reduction in part-time employment post the Black Friday sales.
Despite the increase in overall workforce numbers, reaching a record high of 15,818,000, the employment figures told a different story. Total employment fell by 154,000 to 14,276,000, significantly impacting the “real” unemployment rate, Roy Morgan figures showed.
The most significant change was observed in the part-time sector, where jobs decreased by 210,000, leading to an increased number of people seeking part-time work.
In contrast, full-time employment saw a rise of 56,000, indicating a shift in the type of employment available.
December also saw an increase in underemployment, with 1.68 million Australians working fewer hours than they would prefer, a new high for the category.
Combined with the unemployed, a total of 3.22 million Australians were affected, representing 20.3% of the workforce. This level of combined unemployment and underemployment is the highest since February 2021.
The figures from Roy Morgan contrast sharply with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which reported a lower unemployment rate of 3.9% for November.
However, when considering underemployment, the ABS figures approach those of Roy Morgan, suggesting a broader issue of labor under-utilisation in the economy.
The significant population growth since the pandemic has driven workforce expansion, but employment growth has not kept pace, leading to increased labor under-utilisation.
Michele Levine (pictured above), CEO of Roy Morgan, stressed the urgency of addressing these employment challenges, especially with the upcoming federal election.
“The federal government must make tackling these persistent high levels of unemployment and under-employment the number one priority heading into that election,” Levine said.
Read the Roy Morgan report in full here.
