CANBERRA, July 14 (ABC): Australia’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in almost 50 years. According to labor force data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday, the official unemployment rate in June was 3.5 percent, down from the 3.9 percent recorded for the previous three months.
“This is the lowest unemployment rate since August 1974, when it was 2.7 percent and the survey was quarterly,” Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labor statistics, said in a media release.
Jarvis said 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 labor market, with high demand for engaging and retaining workers, as well as ongoing labor shortages,” he said. An estimated 88,400 jobs were added to the economy in June, which marks the eighth consecutive monthly increase, following the easing of restrictions after the COVID-19 lockdowns in late 2021.