During the month of September, unemployment rates increased up to 6.9%, which means that the other 29,500 people have lost their jobs. This figure was made up of 20,100 full-time jobs and 9,400 part-time jobs.

This rise in unemployment occurs a month after the ABS reported a drop in employment rates by 0.7% to 6.8% in August.

This month’s report from the ABS shows that unfortunately, underemployment rates (11.4%) have increased and participation rates have decreased (64.8%). However, the monthly hours worked has increased by 9 million hours.

Whether the government’s JobMaker policy is effective in encouraging employers to hire more workers will become apparent in the following months. Employers have been provided with incentives and support to hire new workers with the apparent intention that unemployment rates from October onwards show improvement. The incentive is focussed on under 35s, which might also assist in improving the high youth unemployment rate which has continued to rise, currently sitting at 14.5%.