Key points
  • Unemployment rate held steady at 4.3% in March.
  • Employment rose by 18,000, largely driven by the increase in full-time roles.
  • Employees in both full-time and part-time jobs worked more hours in March.  

Latest jobs data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed an additional 18,000 people landed jobs last month. 

The number of new roles more than exceeded the number of people looking for jobs, which fell by nearly 4,000, pointing to continued underlying strength in hiring conditions. 

Despite the employment growth, the participation rate edged lower, slipping 0.1 percentage points to 66.8%, suggesting fewer Australians entered the workforce as anticipated. 

The participation rate measures the proportion of the population currently employed or actively job-hunting.

More workers work full-time in March 

Unlike February, March’s employment gains were largely driven by full‑time jobs, which increased by 53,000.

“Full-time employment rose for both males and females, increasing by 29,000 and 24,000 respectively,” ABS head of labour statistics Sean Crick said. 

This was partly offset by the decline in part-time employment, which dropped by 35,000. 

In comparison, part-timers rose by 79,000 in February, as more older members of the population worked part-time and delayed retirement. 

With more employees working full-time, hours worked likewise increased 0.5% over the month. 

“This month people worked 9.2 million more hours, with full-time hours increasing by 7.1 million and part-time hours increasing by 2.1 million hours,” Mr Crick said.

Full-time hours worked lifted 0.4% as the number of people employed rose 0.5%.

Despite the 0.7% decline in part-time employment, part-time hours worked also rose, up by 0.6%. 

“This meant that on average, a person working part-time worked 1.4% more hours in March than they did in February,” Mr Crick said.

Wages and employment still resilient

Despite growing inflation risks and global uncertainties, Australian employment conditions remain broadly resilient, per Commonwealth Bank. 

CBA’s Wage and Labour insights series released earlier this week shows average wages rose 0.8% over the March quarter, with annual wage growth steady at 3.1%. 

“The CBA Wage insights series continues to show wages growth is steady heading into a period of higher inflation and inflation expectations period due to the Middle East conflict,” CBA head of Australian economics Belinda Allen said.

The data, drawn from de‑identified salary transactions across around 400,000 customer accounts, also suggest employment remains robust. 

CBA estimates around 23,000 jobs were added in March, slightly stronger than the ABS tally.

The big bank’s economists said the figures indicate hiring momentum has softened marginally but “remains resilient in the face of rising interest rates and the Middle East conflict”.

This strength in jobs and wages is helping to cushion households against cost‑of‑living pressures, including higher fuel prices and mortgage costs.

However, Ms Allen cautioned that the unemployment rate may lift from here on out. 

RBA focus turns to inflation risks

Economists expect Thursday’s ABS labour force report will be closely watched by the Reserve Bank, being the first major piece of economic data released since the Middle East conflict escalated.

However, Westpac economist Ryan Wells noted the latest jobs print covers only the first two weeks of the conflict, making it “far too early to detect any meaningful shift” in Australia's broader labour market based on it alone. 

As it stands, steady wages and a tight labour market are helping stabilise the economy. 

However, analysts warn that this can reinforce the risk that inflation could remain higher for longer, keeping pressure on monetary policy settings.

RBA governor Michele Bullock has earlier said the risks remain skewed towards higher inflation rather than rising unemployment after the central bank lifted the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.10% in March.

“The Board’s strategy is still to try and bring inflation back without excess employment,” she said.

“We don’t want to see a recession or a large rise in unemployment if we can avoid it.”

RBA’s next immediate focus will be on the local inflation, with Australia’s headline CPI running at 3.7%, well above the target band.  

The next inflation reading is due 29 April, just days before the RBA Board convenes for the third time this year.