Australian employment change better than expected in April

The trend participation rate increased to a further record high of 65.7 per cent in April 2018, according to the latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

"The labour force participation rate was the highest it has been since the series began in 1978, indicating increasing attachment to the labour force," the Chief Economist for the ABS, Bruce Hockman, said.

In line with the increasing participation rate, employment increased by around 14,000 with part-time employment increasing by 8,000 persons and full-time employment by 6,000 persons in April 2018. This continued the recent slowing of employment growth, particularly full-time employment growth.

The trend unemployment rate remained at 5.5 per cent in April 2018 after the March figure was revised down.

"The unemployment rate has continued to be relatively constrained over the past year, and is still hovering around 5.5 to 5.7 per cent", Mr Hockman said.

The seasonally adjusted number of persons employed increased by almost 23,000 persons in April 2018. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased 0.1 percentage points to 5.6 per cent, and the seasonally adjusted labour force participation rate increased slightly to 65.6 per cent.