Australia’s unemployment rate rose to a 12-year high of 6.3% in November, despite 42,700 new jobs being added.
The figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal that unemployment edged up 0.1% from October, increasing the number of unemployed persons by 4,700 over the month. However, the figures also reveal that the participation rate – the proportion of people in work or looking for work – increased 0.1% to 64.7% in November.
Savanth Sebastian, economist for CommSec, said that despite the lift in unemployment, the rise in the participation rate reveals that the job market isn’t all doom and gloom.
“Contrary to the headline lift in the unemployment rate the job market is in decent shape. Yes, unemployment did lift to a 12-year high of 6.3%. But the real driver of the lift in unemployment was more people looking for work - not entirely a negative outcome,” he said.
“A healthier economy, improved job prospects, and more importantly a noted lift in job advertisement over the past six months has resulted in more people searching for work, with an ongoing lift in the participation rate.”
