The Australian economy just printed yet another upbeat data point, with the employment change and unemployment rate beating expectations for October.
Hiring jumped 42.2K during the month, surpassing estimates of a 20K gain, while the jobless rate slipped from 4.5% to 4.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis.
Key Takeaways
- Unemployment rate fell from 4.5% to 4.3% in seasonally adjusted terms versus the 4.4% consensus
- Employment increased by 42,200 people (0.3%) in seasonally adjusted terms, reaching 14,683,200
- Full-time employment surged by 55,300 positions, offset by a decline of 13,100 in part-time employment
- Participation rate held steady at 67.0%, with an uptick to 67.0% in trend terms
- Hours worked increased by 11 million hours (0.5%) to 1,999 million hours in seasonally adjusted terms
- Underemployment rate improved to 5.7% (seasonally adjusted), down from 5.9% in September
The October data reveals a labour market that continues to add jobs while managing elevated unemployment levels. In trend terms, employment grew by 27,100 positions to reach 14,678,400, representing a 1.5% annual increase of 216,600 jobs.
Full-time positions dominated the gains, with seasonally adjusted figures showing an increase of 55,300 jobs to 10,141,600. This strength in full-time hiring was partially offset by a contraction of 13,100 part-time positions to 4,541,600.
Link to official ABS Labor Force Survey (October 2025)
Labour market flows remained substantial, with approximately 483,000 people entering employment during October while around 448,000 exited. This compares to September’s figures of 451,000 inflows and 398,000 outflows, suggesting continued churn in the labor market.
Monthly hours worked demonstrated resilience, rising by 11 million hours in seasonally adjusted terms to reach 1,999 million hours and representing 2.1% annual increase. The participation rate remained anchored at 67.0% in both trend and seasonally adjusted terms, unchanged from September.
Market Reactions
Australian Dollar vs. Major Currencies: 5-min
AUD vs. Major Currencies 5-min Forex Chart by TradingView
The Australian dollar, which had been trading cautiously in a tight range ahead of the jobs release, popped sharply higher across the board upon seeing all the numbers come in the green.
AUD chalked up its strongest gains against the Kiwi (+0.53%) as the expected RBA shift to a more hawkish stance contrasted with the RBNZ’s decidedly dovish footing.
AUD also saw significant gains versus CHF (+0.51%), GBP (+0.44%) and CAD (+0.41%) a couple of hours after the report was printed.
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