The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.3 per cent in October, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, said: 'The unemployment rate dropped to 4.3 per cent after rising to 4.5 per cent in September. The October unemployment rate is in line with June, July, and August 2025.'
The number of unemployed people fell by 17,000 this month, while the number of employed people rose by 42,000.
'This month more unemployed people moved into employment compared to a typical October', Mr Crick said.
Full-time employment rose by 55,000. The number of females in full-time employment rose by 29,000, while the number of males rose by 26,000.
Rising full-time employment contrasted with a fall in part-time employment of 13,000 people.
The fall in part-time employment was driven by the female workforce, with female part-time employment falling by 21,000 people. Males partly offset this fall, with an 8,000 person rise in part-time employment.
The participation rate remained steady at 67.0 per cent in October.
Male participation rose 0.2 percentage points to 71.0 per cent, while female participation fell 0.2 percentage points to 63.1 per cent.
The employment-to-population ratio remained at 64.0 per cent.
Hours worked rose by 0.5 per cent in October, higher than the 0.3 per cent rise in employment.
| Employed (Index) | Hours (Index) | |
|---|---|---|
| Jun-22 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Jul-22 | 100.0 | 99.8 |
| Aug-22 | 100.6 | 101.0 |
| Sep-22 | 100.7 | 101.1 |
| Oct-22 | 101.0 | 102.5 |
| Nov-22 | 101.4 | 102.7 |
| Dec-22 | 101.3 | 102.6 |
| Jan-23 | 101.6 | 103.5 |
| Feb-23 | 101.8 | 103.7 |
| Mar-23 | 102.6 | 104.4 |
| Apr-23 | 102.5 | 106.6 |
| May-23 | 103.1 | 104.6 |
| Jun-23 | 103.3 | 104.8 |
| Jul-23 | 103.3 | 104.8 |
| Aug-23 | 103.8 | 104.2 |
| Sep-23 | 103.8 | 103.7 |
| Oct-23 | 104.2 | 103.7 |
| Nov-23 | 104.5 | 103.6 |
| Dec-23 | 104.0 | 103.3 |
| Jan-24 | 104.0 | 103.4 |
| Feb-24 | 104.9 | 104.0 |
| Mar-24 | 104.8 | 105.5 |
| Apr-24 | 104.9 | 105.2 |
| May-24 | 105.2 | 104.5 |
| Jun-24 | 105.4 | 104.8 |
| Jul-24 | 105.8 | 105.1 |
| Aug-24 | 106.1 | 105.8 |
| Sep-24 | 106.4 | 105.9 |
| Oct-24 | 106.4 | 105.8 |
| Nov-24 | 106.5 | 106.4 |
| Dec-24 | 106.9 | 106.9 |
| Jan-25 | 107.1 | 107.1 |
| Feb-25 | 106.7 | 106.7 |
| Mar-25 | 106.8 | 106.3 |
| Apr-25 | 107.5 | 106.5 |
| May-25 | 107.5 | 107.9 |
| Jun-25 | 107.5 | 106.9 |
| Jul-25 | 107.8 | 107.3 |
| Aug-25 | 107.7 | 106.9 |
| Sep-25 | 107.8 | 107.5 |
| Oct-25 | 108.1 | 108.0 |
Source: Labour Force, Australia Tables 1 and 19
Underemployment rate 0.5 percentage points lower than same time last year
The underemployment rate fell by 0.2 percentage points to 5.7 per cent in October. This was 0.5 percentage points lower than October 2024, and 3.0 percentage points lower than March 2020.
The underutilisation rate, which combines the unemployment and underemployment rates, fell by 0.3 percentage points to 10.0 per cent. This was 0.3 percentage points lower than October 2024, and 3.9 percentage points lower than March 2020.
Trend unemployment rate remains at 4.4 per cent in October
'Trend employment grew by around 27,000 people, or 0.2 per cent from September to October, and 1.5 per cent in the last 12 months,' Mr Crick said.
'Monthly hours worked rose by 0.1 per cent, which was slightly lower than the 0.2 per cent rise in employment.
'Annual growth in hours worked in October was at 1.4 per cent, also slightly lower than the 1.5 per cent rise in employment over the last 12 months.
In trend terms, the participation rate rose marginally to 67.0 per cent in October, while the employment-to-population ratio stayed at 64.0 per cent.
The underemployment rate remained at 5.8 per cent, and the underutilisation rate was steady at 10.1 per cent.
