- An extra 70,700 people were employed in March 2021 as the JobKeeper wage subsidy came to an end, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
- Despite the good news, the data does not reflect the impact winding up of JobKeeper might have, as the data was collected during the first half of March, prior to the end of JobKeeper on 28 March
- Over the year to March 2021, employment increased 74,300 people, 0.6 per cent, with full-time employment decreasing and part-time employment increasing
- WA’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 per cent, the lowest it has been since December 2013
- Underemployment decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 7.9 per cent in March which is below pre-pandemic level
An extra 70,700 people were employed in March 2021 as the JobKeeper wage subsidy came to an end, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The participation rate increased to a historic high of 66.3 per cent, while monthly hours worked increased by 38 million hours.
ABS Head of Labour Statistics Bjorn Jarvis said this latest data showed continued recovery in the labour market into March 2021, with hours worked higher than March 2020, for the first time during the COVID period.
“Employment and hours worked in March 2021 were both higher than March 2020, up by 0.6 per cent and 1.2 per cent.”
“In March 2021, 62.6 per cent of people over 15 were employed, which was higher than March 2020 (62.4 per cent). The proportion of women employed was the highest it’s ever been (58.5 per cent), half a percentage point higher than in March 2020, while the proportion of men employed remained slightly lower than before the pandemic (66.8 per cent, compared with 67.0 per cent in March 2020).”
Despite the good news, the data does not reflect the impact the JobKeeper wind-up might have, as the data was collected during the first half of March, prior to the end of JobKeeper on March 28.
Over the year to March 2021, employment increased 74,300 people, 0.6 per cent, with full-time employment decreasing and part-time employment increasing.
Western Australia’s recovery from the lockdown in the first week of February was evident in a 2.4 per cent (33,000 people) increase in employment, and a 9.2 per cent increase in hours worked – the strongest across all state and territories.
WA’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 per cent, the lowest it has been since December 2013.
Underemployment decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 7.9 per cent in March, which is below pre-pandemic levels and continued to reflect some unseasonal changes in hours worked during the first few months of 2021.