There has been a re-alignment in the employment markets in recent months with the rise in under-employment closely related to surging part-time employment.
This is according to Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine, with the firm’s latest research showing that part-time employment increased by 295,000 in March - up 6.1 per cent on a month ago - to a new record high of 5,164,000.
“In contrast, full-time employment decreased by 256,000 (down 2.7%) to 9,103,000,” Levine said.
The rise in part-time employment correlates with the increase in under-employment, up 75,000 to 1,576,000 - 10.1 per cent of the total workforce - with a massive 2.93 million Australians being unemployed or under-employed in March. This makes up 18.8 per cent of the total workforce.
“This trend of the increasing casualisation of the workforce is evident when comparing the latest employment figures for March with a year ago,” Levine continued. “Since March 2023, part-time employment has surged by 580,000 (84% of jobs created over the last year) while full-time employment has increased by only 113,000 (16% of jobs created).
“These results indicate the underlying weakness in the economy with under-employment now over 1.5 million for six months in a row. This has never happened before, even during the recent pandemic.”
Levine said this marks another reason why the Reserve Bank of Australia should consider reducing interest rates.
Roy Morgan research further showed that unemployment dropped 78,000 to 1,358,000, which is down 0.5 per cent to 8.7 per cent of the workforce, as employment reached an all-time high of over 14.2 million.
There were 763,000 Australians looking for part-time work, which is down by 70,000, while 595,000 were looking for full-time work - down by 8,000.
Levine said the shifts in Australian employment, including the casualisation trend, are taking place within the broader context of high population growth, which is up by 759,000 people from a year ago - more than double the annual average over the last 25 years of 286,000.
“The rapidly increasing population has powered an increase in the workforce of 641,000 to over 15.6 million and total employment is up 693,000 to over 14.2 million,” Levine said. “Employment growth over the last year has grown at three times the 25-year annual average of 231,000.
“The sustained increase in under-employment in recent months shows the labour market is struggling to provide the right jobs for all those joining the workforce. Tackling this continuing high level of unemployment and under-employment must be the number one priority for the Federal Government over the next year heading into the next election due in early 2025.”
Roy Morgan unemployment estimates were obtained by surveying an Australia-wide cross section of people aged 14 or more. A person is classified as unemployed if they are looking for work, no matter when, with Roy Morgan’s unemployment rate being presented as a percentage of the workforce (both employed and unemployed).