The unemployment rate has unexpectedly dropped to 6.6 percent in December as Australia’s recovery from the CCP virus lockdowns gathers speed.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released on Thursday showed a further 50,000 people found work in December and the majority of the jobs were in full-time employment.
Economists had forecast the jobless rate to ease to 6.7 percent from 6.8 per cent in November, down from the 22-year high of 7.5 percent last July.
“Jobs, jobs and jobs, that’s what we’re about,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a media conference in response to the report, adding he would want to study the figures before commenting further.
December’s employment rise comprised a 35,700 increase in full-time workers and a 14,300 lift in part-time positions.
It means 90 percent of the fall in employment between March and May, when the economy sank into its first recession in nearly 30 years, has now been recovered.
