Adelaide Thursday February 18, 2016

SA unemployment drops in January

News

South Australia’s unemployment rate dropped in January, defying the national picture which showed a slight increase.

David Washington @davidwashingto2

Thursday February 18, 2016

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Seasonally adjusted, South Australia’s jobless rate fell from 7.1 per cent in December to 6.8 per cent in January, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures released this morning.

The steadier trend rate also dropped below 7 per cent – falling from 7.1 per cent in December to 6.9 per cent in January.

South Australia still has the worst unemployment rate of any state. The next worst figure was recorded by Tasmania, with 6.5 per cent.

The trend participation rate – which measures how many people are either employed or actively searching for work – was steady in South Australia.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted rate increased against market expectations, from 5.8 per cent in December to 6.0 per cent in January. The trend rate, however, fell from 5.9 per cent to 5.8 per cent.

The total number of people with jobs fell by 7,900 in the month, which was worse than expectations of a rise of 15,000.

Full-time employment fell 40,600, while the number of part-time jobs was up by 32,700.

The participation rate was steady at 65.2 per cent.

with AAP