Australia's labour market showed signs of recovery in May: net employment rose 40.3k vs a 30k consensus; April was revised to a 40.6k gain, though a sizable downward revision to earlier data partly offsets the improvement. Unemployment eased from a four-and-a-half-year high to 4.4% (from 4.5%) as expected, while the participation rate rose to 66.7%. Aggregate hours worked fell 1.1%. The report points to economic resilience and could, if necessary, support further RBA rate hikes.

2026-06-25

Australia's labour market showed signs of recovery in May: net employment rose 40.3k vs a 30k consensus; April was revised to a 40.6k gain, though a sizable downward revision to earlier data partly offsets the improvement. Unemployment eased from a four-and-a-half-year high to 4.4% (from 4.5%) as expected, while the participation rate rose to 66.7%. Aggregate hours worked fell 1.1%. The report points to economic resilience and could, if necessary, support further RBA rate hikes.