Unemployment is seemingly on the rise, lifting from 4.1 per cent in January 2026 to 4.3 per cent in February.
This is according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which shows that the number of unemployed people grew by 35,000, contributing to the 0.2 percentage point increase.
ABS head of labour statistics Sean Crick said there were fewer people who were unemployed and waiting to start a job in January, moving into employment in February. At least compared to Februarys in recent years.
“We also saw more people remaining unemployed this month compared to recent Februarys,” Crick added.
Employed people grew by 49,000. Part-time employment rose by 79,000 people, while full-time employment fell by 30,000 people.
“This month we saw more people move into part-time employment, particularly those aged 65 and over,” Crick said.
“Additionally, this month we saw that fewer people are leaving jobs to retire compared to a year ago.”
Hours worked fell 0.2 per cent this month, with more people working part-time hours instead of full-time hours.
The growth in both employment and unemployment has resulted in a 0.2 percentage point increase in the participation rate, which was 66.9 per cent in February.
Meanwhile, trend unemployment fell marginally from a revised 4.3 per cent in January to 4.2 per cent in February. Crickadded that trend employment grew by 0.2 per cent while hours worked grew by 0.3 per cent in February. “Annually, hours worked also grew faster than employment.”
This data release comes as the ABS begins modernising how it collects data in the Labour Force Survey. Crick said the transition to its new system starts in April, and when complete, it will give survey participants a modern, easy and secure way to complete the Labour Force Survey.
“We are managing this transition with care to ensure our data remains accurate, trustworthy and secure.”