Jobs market still super hot

A series of cash rate hikes by the central bank has not dented Australia’s job market, with unemployment in WA at 3.5 per cent.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia senior economist Belinda Allen said the latest labour force numbers from the Australian Bureau of Statistics were strong.

Employment was up by 64,000 nationally, she said, much more than the consensus rate of 19,000. 

“Today’s data suggests the labour market is not tightening further with supply meeting demand,” Ms Allen said.

“The fact that supply is being met is good news for businesses who have struggled with labour shortages in recent times. 

“Job vacancies are also trending lower and the number of applicants per job is also rising.”

In Western Australia, unemployment was down 0.1 percentage points to 3.5 per cent in November, seasonally adjusted.

Nationally, the jobless rate was 3.4 per cent.

That continues to be near five-decade-lows, as the jobs market has been white hot for most of 2022.

So, too, has been inflation, which has also been hitting the highest levels in decades.

The overheated economic numbers have forced the Reserve Bank to dramatically raise interest rates, from 0.1 per cent to be 3.1 per cent.

St George senior economist Pat Bustamante said the participation rate hit a new record high at 66.8 per cent, which measures the portion of working age people working or looking for jobs.

“The underemployment rate declined, and the share of full-time jobs remained elevated,” he said. 

“In addition, population growth has accelerated on the back of higher migration levels

“This mix suggests that employers are squeezing out every last drop of labour supply.”