By Jamie Salter
Unemployment has fallen to its lowest rate since 1974, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The unemployment rate fell to 3.5 per cent in June 2022.
ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said the unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage points.
“The large fall in the unemployment rate this month reflects more people than usual entering employment and also lower than usual numbers of employed people becoming unemployed. Together, these flows reflect an increasingly tight labour market, with high demand for engaging and retaining workers, as well as ongoing labour shortages,” Mr Jarvis said.
He said the 3.4 per cent unemployment rate for women was the lowest since February 1974 and the 3.6 per cent rate for men was the lowest since May 1976.
There were 494,000 people unemployed in June and 480,000 job vacancies.
“This equates to around one unemployed person per vacant job, compared with three times as many people before the start of the pandemic,” Mr Jarvis said, pointing out the jump from 1 person per vacant job to 3.1.
Employment increased by 88,000 people in June 2022.
The increase in June 2022 was the eighth consecutive rise in employment, following the easing of restrictions after the Delta lockdowns in late 2021.
Victoria also saw record low unemployment rates in June as a result of major job growth.
Victoria delivered the largest jobs growth of all the states last month, with more than 28,000 new jobs created – boosting the total number of Victorians in work to more than 3.54 million.
The workforce participation rate in Victoria is a historically high 67.1 per cent, and there are now proportionally more Victorians in work than ever before.
The Victorian Government’s Jobs Plan goal of creating 200,000 new jobs by the end of 2022 has been achieved and the 2025 target of 400,000 new jobs is in sight, according to the State Government.
“Every extra person in work in Victoria is significant and it’s fantastic to see jobs growing at the rate they are and unemployment falling,” Treasurer Tim Pallas said.
“Our recovery is a credit to every Victorian and we’ll keep working to create the conditions for businesses to continue to grow and put on more workers.”
