Australian Jobless Rate Hits Five-Year High Amid Rising Participation

Australia's jobless rate hit a five-year high in August as more people entered the workforce, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The unemployment rate rose to 4.6 per cent, above forecasts for a steady 4.5 per cent.

The ABS reported that employment rose by 39,500 in August from July, driven entirely by part-time roles. This was higher than market forecasts of a 20,000 increase. However, the jobless rate increased as more people joined the workforce, with the participation rate climbing to 67.1 per cent.

Oscar Guth, an economist for Oxford Economics Australia, said that employment growth failed to keep pace with the influx of people into the labour force in August. He noted that inflation pressures extend beyond the labour market, with oil prices above US$100 a barrel and trimmed mean inflation stuck at 3.6 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to raise interest rates next week for the fourth time in 2026, despite some mixed signals from the data. Markets have priced in a 95 per cent chance that the policy rate will rise to 4.6 per cent.