Who's hiring, who's firing, and where to move for work. State-by-state unemployment, participation rates, and labour market trends — powered by ABS data.
Unemployment rate by state and territory. Green is good. Red means rough. 24-month trend is shown on every card.
Monthly unemployment rate by state and territory. National average in bold. Hover for exact values.
The participation rate measures the share of working-age Australians who are employed or actively looking for work. It's the number the unemployment rate doesn't tell you.
A rising participation rate alongside low unemployment means the economy is genuinely creating jobs — not just that people have stopped looking. A falling participation rate can artificially suppress the unemployment figure.
Australia's "underemployment" rate — people working fewer hours than they want — typically runs 3-4 percentage points above the official unemployment rate. The headline figure is always the best-case version of reality.
Some unemployment is structural (skills mismatch, geography, industry decline) and can't be fixed by rate cuts. Cyclical unemployment responds to economic conditions. The RBA can address one, not the other.
We read the data so you don't have to. An editorial take on Australia's labour market — grounded in real numbers.
At 4.3%, Australia's job market is in decent shape but not spectacular. The post-pandemic hiring frenzy has cooled. Employers are pickier, timelines are longer, and the days of four competing offers are largely over. Still — if you're looking, it's not brutal out there.
Australian Capital Territory is sitting at just 3.5% unemployment — the tightest labour market in the country. If you're in a moveable career, this is your geographic arbitrage play. A diversified economy with strong demand is keeping things tight. Cost of living is also generally lower than Sydney or Melbourne.
Northern Territory has the highest unemployment in the country at 5.0%. The structural issues are well-documented: remote communities with high structural unemployment, limited private sector jobs, and deep dependence on government employment. Federal programs help — but they're slow and unevenly applied.