According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the country’s unemployment rate stood at 4.6% for September, beating expectations of 4.8% and but still higher than August’s 4.5%. Employment change stood at -138.000 in September, below the expected -137.500 and over August’s -146.3000.
Full-time employment went up by 26.700 in September, after dropping by 68.000 in the previous month. Part-time employment went down by 164.700, after dropping by 78.200 in the previous month. The participation rate stood at 64.5%, lower than expectations of 64.7% and the previous month’s 65.2%.
The Bureau of Statistics also published consumers' inflation expectations, which stood at 3.6%, lower than expectations of 3.8% and the previous reading of 4.4%.
Many link these troubles in the labor markets to the impact of restrictions on economic and social life the Australian government has imposed to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In any case, the economy and the labor market are expected to fully recover next year.
“Looking ahead, the labor data will continue to reflect the impact of lockdowns in the near term,” commented an analyst at BIS Oxford. “Notwithstanding the capacity for a robust recovery in the economy it is likely to be well into 2022 before the labor market fully recovers.”
Australia keeps struggling with the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 136,134 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Australia, including 1,496 related deaths.
To stop the spread of the virus, the government is pushing a very aggressive vaccination drive. So far, 31.7 million doses have been distributed among the local population, with 13.7 million individuals now fully vaccinated, accounting for 53.2% of the total population.
Since the beginning of the week, the Australian dollar has gained 1.45% against the US dollar, gaining ground for the second consecutive week. In Wednesday's session, the Australian dollar gained 0.47% against the greenback, closing the session at the 0.7383 level and recovering from the previous session's losses.
By 11:22 GMT the Australian dollar went up by 0.47% against the US dollar, hitting the 0.7413 level.