Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force figures for November released today show South Australia’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell by 0.7 percentage points from October.

SA’s rate is behind Tasmania’s 5.1 per cent, Queensland’s 4.8 per cent and Victoria’s 4.7 per cent and is equal to that of New South Wales.

More than 884,500 people had jobs in South Australia in November, up 1.2 per cent from the previous month, with the employment to population ratio climbing by 0.7 percentage points to 60.5 per cent.

The state’s underemployment rate however was among the nation’s highest at 8.1 per cent, up 0.1 percentage points from October. The participation rate, measuring those actively looking for work, increased slightly to 63.5 per cent.

Nationally, the number of people in work jumped by 366,000 in November to 13,177,300 – a 2.9 per cent increase.

Unemployment fell by just under 10 per cent or 69,400 people, while the underemployment rate fell to 7.5 per cent.

Innovation and skills minister David Pisoni said SA added 10,100 jobs in November to record the state’s lowest jobless rate in 12 years.

“Throughout 2021 South Australia has outperformed the nation in respect of an increase in employment, both full and part-time, an increase in the participation rate and a decrease in the unemployment rate,” he said.