What it measures
The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a share of the labour force, which counts everyone working or looking for work.
Who publishes it and when
It is published in the ABS Labour Force release at 11:30 Sydney time, usually around the middle of the month after the one it covers.
How it is put together
It comes from the same household survey as Employment Change. A rise can come from more people looking for work, not only from job losses, so the participation rate is read alongside it.
What traders watch
Traders compare it with the RBA's own forecast and read it with employment and participation.
How markets have usually reacted
A rise has often weighed on the Australian dollar and a fall has often supported it, combined with the reaction to the jobs figure.
Common mistakes
- Reading a 0.1 point change as a turning point.
- Ignoring participation.
How a higher or lower figure is usually read
A higher unemployment rate is usually read as negative for the Australian dollar; a lower one as supportive. Not a signal.
Release history
No past releases recorded yet.
Related news
- Australia Employment Change
- Reserve Bank of Australia Rate Decision (cash rate)
- Australia GDP
- Economic calendar: every release this week in your time zone
- Lot size calculator: keep your risk the same around news
- How to use an economic calendar: what happens around a release, and how to plan for it
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Official source
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Published by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Labour Force survey: www.abs.gov.au