The Australian unemployment rate was at 5.3 per cent in January, as announced by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage points, from December 2009.
The number of people employed in January increased by 52,700 to 10.966 million, seasonally adjusted, the ABS reported. This is the largest rise in employment since December 2006. The rise in employment was driven by a rise in part-time employment, up 36,900 persons to 3.314 million together with a rise in full-time employment, up 15,900 persons to 7.652 million.
For the third consecutive month, the ABS reported the number of people unemployed had decreased, down 22,300 persons to 612,000 in January.
The ABS seasonally adjusted monthly aggregate hours worked series showed a fall in January, down 14.8 million hours to 1,518.1 million hours.
The ABS participation rate in January remained at 65.3 per cent.
