Investing.com-- Australia’s job market grew much more than expected in August as the labor market continued to remain even as the broader economy cooled amid pressure from high interest rates.
The total number of employed people rose by 47,500 people, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistic showed on Thursday. The reading was well above expectations 26,400 people, but eased slightly from the 58,200 increase seen in July.
The participation rate- which gauges the percentage of the population that is within the employment sector- remained steady at a record high of 67.1%, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%.
Thursday’s reading marked a fifth straight month of outsized growth in Australia’s labor force, as local businesses struggled to fill out a high level of vacancies, especially for skilled laborers.
“The high employment-to-population ratio and participation rate shows that there are still large numbers of people entering the labour force and finding work, as employers continue to look to fill a more than usual number of job vacancies,” Kate Lamb, ABS head of labour statistics said in a note.
Strength in the labor market has been a key driver of consumer inflation in the country, and gives the Reserve Bank of Australia more headroom to keep interest rates high.