Australia Employment Rises Less than Expected
2026-04-16 01:43
By
Farida Husna
1 min. read
Employment in Australia rose by 17,900 to a record 14.76 million in March 2026, slowing sharply from an upwardly revised 49,600 increase in the previous month and missing market expectations for a 20,000 gain.
The softer outcome marked the weakest job growth since a contraction last November.
Full-time employment remained resilient, rising by 52,500 to 10.17 million, while part-time employment fell by 34,600 to 4.59 million, partially offsetting overall gains and pointing to a shift in job composition.
The employment-to-population ratio remained unchanged at 64.0% for the fourth straight month, while the participation rate edged down to 66.8% from the prior 66.9%.
On an annual basis, total employment rose by 258,800, or 1.8%.