Full-time employment growth offset by drop in part-time employment
Australia's unemployment rate remained at 4.1% in January, with the number of unemployed people dropping slightly from a month ago.
The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people declined to 624,700 in January 2026, down from 626,600 in December.
"The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1% in January," said Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics.
"Employed people grew by 18,000. Full-time employment rose by 50,000 people, partly offset by a fall of 33,000 people in part-time employment."
Tasmania logged the highest unemployment rate across Australia at 4.9% in January. Other states and territories recorded:
- Northern Territory (4.5%)
- Queensland (4.3%)
- Victoria (4.2%)
- New South Wales (4.1%)
- Australian Capital Territory (4.1%)
- South Australia (3.7%)
- Western Australia (3.4%)
According to the ABS, Australia's participation rate reached 66.7%, which was lower than the record high measured in January 2025.
The underemployment rate increased to 5.9% in January, while the underutilisation rate also rose to 10%.
"Youth underemployment rose 1.0 percentage point to 14.8%. This rise largely reversed the fall recorded last month," Crick said.
Hours worked went up
Meanwhile, the ABS revealed that fewer people worked less hours in January, which raised the total hours worked by 0.6%.
"This month fewer people reported working less hours than typical Januarys due to being on leave. This contributed to hours worked growing more strongly than employment," Crick said.
Full-time hours worked grew by 0.7%, while part-time hours worked rose by 0.1%.
"On average, part-time employed persons worked more hours this month, with part-time hours worked per person increasing by 0.8%," Crick said.
"However, the total number of part-time hours worked only rose 0.1%, with the number of people employed part-time falling 0.7%."
