Australia’s unemployment rate for January 2024 rose from 3.9% to 4.1%.
The jobless rate measures the percentage of people who were looking for work but could not find any.
The number of employed people remains high at just above 14.2 million. However, there were 5,200 job losses last month.
It follows unemployment levels of around 3.5% for most of past year — the lowest unemployment figure since the 1970s.
Govt response to January 2024 unemployment rate
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the 4.1% unemployment rate is still low by historical standards.
The Treasurer noted the five-year unemployment average before COVID-19 was about 5.5%.
Chalmers added that the slightly higher rate was “consistent” with the Government’s expectations.
“This is also the inevitable consequence of higher interest rates and persistent inflation and global economic uncertainty,” he said.
