The bureau reported the number of people employed decreased by 5,500 to 11,538,900 in December. The decrease in employment was driven by decreased full-time employment, down 13,800 people to 8,112,500 and was offset by increased part-time employment, up 8,300 people to 3,426,400. The increase in part-time employment was driven by an increase in male part-time employment.
The number of people unemployed increased by 16,600 people to 656,400 in December. The monthly seasonally adjusted aggregate hours worked series showed a decrease in December, down 1.1 million hours to 1,623.5 million hours. The seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate remained steady at 65.1 per cent in December.