Unemployment in April rises to four-year high of 4.5 per cent
The jobless level for April was the highest since November 2021 when Sydney and Melbourne were in COVID lockdown.
Australia’s unemployment rate has risen to a four-year high of level 4.5 per cent following successive Reserve Bank interest rate rises and is now much worse than feared just a fortnight ago.
The jobless level for April was the highest since November 2021 when Sydney and Melbourne were in COVID lockdown, which could see the RBA delay raising interest rates again to tackle runaway inflation.
The proportion of people without work rose from March’s 4.3 per cent level following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s February and March rate hikes, but before the latest May 5 increase that took the cash rate to a 15-month high of 4.35 per cent.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The latest jobless rate is worse than updated RBA forecasts, released a fortnight ago, predicting a 4.2 per cent unemployment rate by June this year and a 4.4 per cent level in June 2027.
The second full month of the Iran war was already threatening to create a situation of stagflation where unemployment is above full employment as inflation soars further above the RBA’s 2-3 per cent target.
Inflation in March climbed to a near, three-year high of 4.6 per cent and any further increase in unemployment above April’s level would see Australia suffer from a stagflation problem where the RBA was simultaneously failing its dual mandates on the labour market and inflation.
Just one of the RBA’s nine monetary policy board members this month voted against increasing interest rates by another 25 basis points.
But a higher-than-expected rise in the jobless rate could see the RBA potentially postpone further rate rises with the number of people without work climbing by 33,000 in April to 692,500.
Tasmania now has Australia’s highest jobless rate of 5 per cent, having had Australia’s lowest jobless rate of 3.8 per cent a year earlier, and was even higher than Victoria’s 4.8 per cent level.
New South Wales had a jobless rate of 4.5 per cent, in line with the national average.
Mining-rich Western Australia has the lowest unemployment among the states of 4.1 per cent, which was marginally lower than Queensland and South Australia on 4.2 per cent.
