Australia’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.9 per cent in June, the first time it has fallen below 5 per cent in over a decade.

It was the eighth consecutive monthly fall in the rate, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

The decline in the jobless rate from 5.1 per cent in May came as 29,100 people joined the workforce.

“The declining unemployment rate continues to coincide with employers reporting high levels of job vacancies and difficulties in finding suitable people for them,” ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.

Forward indicators of employment, such as job advertising, remain strong.

While the latest SEEK employment report showed new job ads easing 1.3 per cent in June, they remain 91.6 per cent higher than June 2020 and 23.7 per cent up on June 2019.

“June is traditionally a slightly quieter posting month as it is the end of the financial year,” SEEK managing director Kendra Banks said.

“Many businesses hold off advertising new roles until July, when budgets are handed down and priorities for the coming financial year are set.”

Labour force data for June

• Unemployment rate – 4.9 per cent versus 5.1 per cent in May
• Underemployment rate (employed people seeking additional work) – 7.9 per cent versus 7.4 per cent
• Employment rose 29,100
• Full-time positions rose 51,600
• Part-time employment fell 22,500
• Participation rate (people working or looking for work): Unchanged at 66.2 per cent

State unemployment rates

• NSW – 5.1 per cent in June versus 5.1 per cent in May
• VIC – 4.4 per cent versus 4.7 per cent
• QLD – 5.1 per cent versus 5.4 per cent
• SA – 5.3 per cent versus 5.8 per cent
• WA – 5.1 per cent versus 4.6 per cent
• TAS – 4.5 per cent versus 5.7 per cent
• NT – 4.8 per cent versus 4.5 per cent
• ACT – 4.9 per cent versus 3.6 per cent

(Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)

-AAP