Australia: Unemployment drops to pre-pandemic levels – UOB

UOB Group’s Economist Lee Sue Ann assesses the recently published labour market report in the Australian economy.

Key Quotes

“Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.1% in May, from 5.5% in the previous month, and back to the level in February 2020. The latest fall in the unemployment rate coincided with a strong increase in employment between April and May.”

“Overall, the labour market continues to improve. Australia’s second largest state, Victoria, was locked down during May to contain a virus outbreak after a quarantine breach. Hence, the twoweek lockdown is likely to weigh on June employment data. That said, we expect solid jobs growth to resume in the second half of the year as the market shakes off the impact of Victoria lockdown. We look for Australia’s unemployment rate to continue declining, reaching 4.8% by end 2021, and falling to 3.2% by the end of 2022.”