The unemployment rate currently sits at 3.7% in August which is unchanged from the previous month. Employment increased By a stronger than expected 64,900 people over the month, more than double the 25,000 expected by the ABS. Over the past 12 months Australia has welcomed over 454,000 migrants which has assisted employers greatly in filling vacant positions. However, currently, demand continues to outstrip supply even with this drastic increase in net migration, employers have easily absorbed this increased migration intake to fill the vast number of vacant positions across the economy. Workforce participation remains historically high at 67%.
The underemployment rate (the percentage of Australians who would work more hours if they had the opportunity to do so) increased over the past month by 0.2% to 6.6%, indicating employers may have over hired and demand across the economy may not be meeting expectations.
As the economy continues to cool economists predict the unemployment rate to rise steadily to 4.7% through to the end of 2024, still below pre-covid levels.
It will begin to become easier for employers to seek out and hire talent over the coming 12 months. However, retention strategy will be what sets employers apart and boosts overall productivity across the economy.
The vast majority of migration intake has been for low and medium skilled positions heavily skewed towards service industries such as hospitality. Competition for talent with unique skills, qualifications and experience in areas such as tech, trades, engineering, mining and logistics across the economy remains high. For the foreseeable future employers will need to continue to provide flexible employment packages, high salaries and work hard on their business culture to attract and retain this segment of talent ahead of their competitors.