Job market tightens further

What a difference a year makes. In May 2021, the national unemployment rate was 5.1%. But by May of this year, it had fallen to 3.9%, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The underemployment rate also fell during that 12-month period, from 7.5% to 5.7%.

In more good news, the participation rate (the share of adults who either have a job or who are looking for one) rose from 66.2% to 66.7%.

So there are more people in the labour market, more people in work and fewer people out of work. That’s encouraging for employers, because it means more consumers with the ability to spend money.

The Reserve Bank expects "further declines in unemployment and underemployment" in the months ahead, according to the minutes of its monetary policy meeting from earlier this month.