Unemployment Rate Drops

A welcome news for Australia. The national jobless rate dropped last August, indicating that fewer Aussies are looking for work.

The latest data showed that the national unemployment rate dropped to 5.1 percent. This is 0.1 percent lower than July’s figure.

The number also defied expectations of economists when they expected it to rise to 5.3 percent because of many companies announcing cut jobs. The forecast was based on a poll conducted by Bloomberg.

The latest data also indicated that participation rate dropped to 65 percent. This is the lowest level posted since January 2007.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the economy got 600 full-time jobs although companies cut about 9,300 part-time jobs. This means there was a net loss of about 8,800 part-time work last month.

Su-Lin Ong, an economist from RBC Capital Market, said the slight drop in the unemployment rate is because of a lower rate in participation. She added that participation rate is a poor indicator of the labor market.