Australian Bureau of Statistics unemployment figures for January show that SA’s seasonally adjusted rate increased slightly from 3.9 per cent in December to return to the 4.0 per cent recorded in November.

SA’s participation rate, which measures those actively seeking work, lifted marginally from 63.5 to 63.7 per cent, with only Tasmania’s 62.2 per cent worse. By comparison, Western Australia’s participation rate was 68.8 per cent, and NSW, Victoria and Queensland are all in the 66 per cent range.

But South Australia’s underemployment rate, which jumped a full percentage point in December to a nation-leading 7.9 per cent, fell back in January by an equal full percentage point to 6.9 per cent – Australia’s second highest rate but a long way behind Tasmania’s 9.0 per cent.

The ABS said that there were 43,300 fewer full-time jobs and 31,800 less casual positions nationally in January, with just over 9.56 million full-time and 4.15 million casual jobs recorded.

It said that “along with a larger-than-usual increase in unemployed people in January, there was also a similarly larger-than-usual rise in the number of unemployed people who had a job to go to in the future”.

“January is the most seasonal time of the year in the Australian labour market, with people leaving jobs but also getting ready to start new jobs or return from leave,” ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.

“This January, we saw more people than usual with a job indicating they were starting or returning to work later in the month.”