While the number of jobs added during September, at +6.7K, is a disappointment the other 'headline', the unemployment rate, dropped to 3.6% from 3.7%. Due to a big drop in participation, from a record high of 67% in August to 66.7% in September.
The split between full- and part-time employment change is ugly:
- full-time nearly -40K, this is worse than it looks given the prior month was only +2.8K
- part-time +46.5K
- hours worked fell 0.4% m/m (to be -0.9% for the quarter)
- underemployment rate 6.4% (from 6.6%)
- underutilisation rate (combines the unemployment and underemployment rates) 9.9% from 10.2%
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Published at the same time was the National Australia Bank quarterly business survey:
Business Confidence in Q3 came in at -1
- prior -4