Australian Jan jobs report much softer-than-expected

Australia employment change s.a. came in at -7.9K in January, well below forecasts of +15k, with the unemployment rate s.a. at 6% vs forecasts of 5.8%. Fulltime employment dropped by 40.6k vs previous 17K, while part-time employment rose by 32.7k from previous -18.6k. Participation rate was unchanged at 65.2%.

Key points

TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

Employment increased 19,800 to 11,909,900.

Unemployment decreased 4,400 to 739,400.

Unemployment rate decreased less than 0.1 pts to 5.8%, based on unrounded estimates.

Participation rate remained steady at 65.2%.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs increased 3.6 million hours to 1,652.7 million hours.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

Employment decreased 7,900 to 11,894,500. Full-time employment decreased 40,600 to 8,185,800 and part-time employment increased 32,700 to 3,708,700.

Unemployment increased 30,200 to 761,400. The number of unemployed persons looking for full-time work increased 25,600 to 544,100 and the number of unemployed persons only looking for part-time work increased 4,600 to 217,300.

Unemployment rate increased 0.2 pts to 6.0%.

Participation rate remained steady at 65.2%.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs increased 10.9 million hours to 1,656.0 million hours