Australian Unemployment Continues to Rise.

Figures released in February show the seasonally adjusted employment rates stands at 298,300, or 2.6 per cent) higher than it was this time last year and well above the decade average of 1.8 percent. 

Minister for Employment, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash said the underlying trend of the Australian labour market continues to demonstrate encouraging resilience, despite facing international headwinds and share market turmoil.

"There is still considerable underlying strength in the labour market. The overall trend and the statistics show the Australian labour market is holding is holding up well," Minister Cash said.

"Participation has increased slightly to to 65.2 per cent, employment is higher than it was this time last year and we are seeing positive signs in relation to job vacancy figures."

Compare with January 2015, the ABS data shows over the past 12 months;

• Total employment has rise by 298,300 or 2.6 percent
• Full-time employment has increased by 157,800, or 2.0 per cent to stand at 8,185,800
• Part-time employment has increased by 140,500 or 3.9 per cent to stand at a record high 3,708,700
• Female employment has risen by 163,200 or 3.1 per cent.

While the figures are encouraging, the unemployment rate in Australia shows job growth is not as strong as it appears, with the seasonally adjusted estimate dropping marginally for the second month in a row. 

The reported jobless rate was 6.0 per cent for January 2015 - up from 5.8 the previous month - an improvement to this time last year when it was 6.3 per cent. 

If the trend continues to show the same pace of decline, it will shave a point from the unemployment rates every  two or three months, a rate of improvement which is sustainable would mean no need for the economy to be boosted by lower interest rates. 

Mike Cullen has recently returned to Akolade after a period as the conference producer for one of Australia's leading economic think tanks. Mike began working in the conference industry in 2007 after looking for a career change from the high pressured world of inbound customer service. Mike has worked for some of the most well-known conference and media companies in the B2B space and in his spare time is working on his first novel in a planned Epic Fantasy trilogy. Mike’s first published work will be the short story Seeds of Eden, in the Sproutlings Anthology scheduled for release in March 2016.