Australia’s unemployment rate has increased above expectations as the economy cools, further improving the case for the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep interest rates steady.
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that in July, the unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 3.7 per cent.
The number of employed Australians dropped by 15,000, while the number of Australians classified as being unemployed rose by 42,000.
ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said the job rate was still below pre-pandemic levels.
“The fall in employment follows an average monthly increase of around 42,000 people during the first half of this year. Employment is still around 387,000 people higher than last July,” he said.
The latest data adds more weight to the case that the Reserve Bank of Australia should hold interest rates steady, which has long signalled that unemployment would likely increase as inflation cools.