The Australian Bureau of Statistics data released today shows the South Australian unemployment rate for August was 3.9 per cent (seasonally adjusted) – down from 4.0 per cent the previous month.

The last time the state’s unemployment was this low was December 2021 – the first time South Australia’s unemployment rate had fallen below four per cent since records began in 1978.

The figure was only lower than Tasmania (4.9 per cent) and the Northern Territory (4.5 per cent). The best-performing jurisdictions were the ACT (2.7) and Western Australia (3.1).

The national figure increased to 3.5 per cent, up from the 48-year-low figure of 3.4 per cent in July.

South Australia’s underemployment rate also dropped, from 6.8 per cent to 6.5 per cent.

Nationally, a total of 33,000 jobs were added for the month.

“With employment increasing by 33,000 people and unemployment by 14,000, the unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 3.5 per cent in August, returning to the same rate as June,” Lauren Ford, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said.

The participation rate also rose to 66.6 per cent. South Australia’s participation rate rose by 0.6 percentage points to hit 63.1 per cent.