Seasonally adjusted unemployment fell to 5.7% in March 2016, down from 5.8% a month earlier. The number of people unemployed fell by 7,300 compared with the prior month and therefore in March 2016, that meant 723,100 were unemployed. The data demonstrates that unemployment has trended down since the beginning of 2015, when the unemployment rate was 6.4% and the total number of unemployed people was 787,400.
The chart below shows unemployment data since April 2012.
To go straight to the dashboard and take a closer look at the data, click here.
While the unemployment rate declined, the seasonally adjusted number of people in employment was 11,909,000 in March 2016. This was up just 0.2% on the prior month, feeding into the lower unemployment rate, as the chart below shows.
To go straight to the dashboard and take a closer look at the data, click here.
The end result was that the participation rate remained stable at 64.9% in March 2016.
Although it is never far from mind, employment and unemployment are unlikely to be issues in the impending Federal Election.
