Australia sees a 16,000-person drop in employed people
Australia's unemployment rate increased to 4.5% in July following a nearly 16,000-person drop in the number of employed people, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The latest Labour Force statistics revealed that 16,000 people lost employment for the month of July, while the number of unemployed people went up by 4,000.
"The majority of the fall in employment came from males, which fell by 11,000 people," said Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, in a statement.
"There were 10,000 fewer males employed part-time, and 1,000 fewer in full-time employment in July."
Female employment also recorded a drop in the number of employed people, albeit slightly lower at 5,000, according to the ABS. The number of women employed part-time declined by 22,000, but those employed full-time increased by 17,000.
The figures bring the country's employment-to-population ratio, which is the percentage of the working-age population that currently has a job, down to 63.9%.
Australia's underemployment stayed at 6.4% in July, with the participation rate declining to 66.9%.
Unemployment by state and territory
By state and territory, Victoria and Tasmania logged the highest unemployment rates with both registering 5.1% in July 2026.
They are followed by Western Australia with a 4.4% unemployment rate, and then New South Wales and Queensland which both recorded 4.2%.
South Australia saw the lowest unemployment rate across the country with 4.1%, a drop of 0.2 percentage points from a month ago.
Meanwhile, New South Wales and Western Australia emerged as the biggest contributors to the drop in total hours worked across the country.
According to the ABS, both states were down eight million in total hours worked.
"There were 12 million less hours worked this month, with those employed full-time working seven million less hours, and those employed part-time working five million less hours," Crick also said.
Labour Force Modernisation project update
In the same announcement, the ABS said it is expecting to complete the Labour Force Modernisation project at the end of September 2026.
The project aims to improve how ABS collects the Labour Force Survey by updating its design, content, as well as the systems and tools used to enumerate the surveys.
Design changes include the groups of questions and topics, as well as how, when, and to whom they are asked. The content changes include updates in the questions ABS asks respondents.
"From this time, all respondents will have an improved digital experience, and users will have greater access to labour force statistics, including more frequent insights on select topics," Crick said.
