Unemployment rate returns to 3.5% in February, stats show

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.5% in February, according to data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics says: "with employment increasing by around 65,000 people, and the number of unemployed decreasing by 17,000 people, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%. This was back to the level we saw in December.

“The February increase in employment follows consecutive falls in December and January. In January, this reflected a larger than usual number of people waiting to start a new job, the majority of whom returned to or commenced their jobs in February.

“This was particularly evident in the South-East of Australia, with larger than seasonal numbers of people entering into employment across New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT.”

With the higher than usual number of people transitioning into employment in February, the number of people indicating they were waiting to start a new job returned close to normal levels.