Australia Posted Strong Hiring Growth in November, Jobless Rate Down to 3.9%

Australia’s labor market showed considerable strength in November, with employment growing more than forecasted and the unemployment rate falling to 3.9%. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that the economy added 35,600 jobs, surpassing market expectations of 26,000.

Key points from November’s employment report:

• Unemployment rate decreased to 3.9% from 4.1% in October
• Total employment increased by 35,600, beating the 26,000 forecast
• Full-time employment rose by 52,600 to 10,068,100
• Part-time employment decreased by 17,000 to 4,467,400
• Participation rate slightly decreased to 67.0% from 67.1%

Link to ABS November 2024 Employment Report

Components of the report also revealed a higher-than-usual number of people transitioning from unemployment into employment, including those who were previously waiting to start work back in October. This shift contributed significantly to both the employment increase and unemployment rate decline.

According to the ABS head of Labour Statistics David Taylor, “Compared with outcomes before the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment and underemployment measures are still low, while trend employment and participation measures are around all-time highs. This suggests the labour market continues to be relatively tight.”

Overlay of AUD Pairs vs. Major Currencies Chart by TradingView

The Australian dollar, which was already gradually advancing against most of its counterparts a few hours before the report, strengthened broadly following the stronger-than-expected employment data.

Initial price action showed sharp gains across the board, with AUD/USD leading the rally (+0.62%), followed by gains against CHF (+0.56%) and CAD (+0.54%).

AUD returned some of its gains versus NZD (+0.30%) and JPY (+0.49%) but remained in positive territory while the rest of the pairs continued to move sideways around intraday highs as of this writing.