Australian unemployment jumps to 9.7% in April; highest since July 2021 but under-employment unchanged

The latest Roy Morgan employment series data shows unemployment increasing by 1.9% points to 9.7% in April - the biggest monthly increase since the initial stages of the pandemic just over two years ago. However, under-employment was unchanged at 8.4% in April.

There was a sharp spike in unemployment in April up 278,000 to 1.41 million Australians (9.7% of the workforce) while under-employment was up 7,000 to 1.23 million (unchanged at 8.4% of the workforce). Overall unemployment and under-employment was up 285,000 at 2.64 million (18.1%).

• Workforce increased 39,000 in April driven by the steep rise in unemployment:
  
  The workforce in April was 14,562,000 (up 39,000 from March) – comprised of 13,151,000 employed Australians (down 239,000) and 1,411,000 unemployed Australians looking for work (up 278,000);
  
  
• Employment fell in April driven by a large fall in part-time employment as restrictions eased and the Omicron variant receded:
  
  Australian employment fell by 239,000 to 13,151,000 in April driven by a large fall in part-time employment, down 270,000 to 4,442,000. In contrast, full-time employment increased by 31,000 to 8,709,000.
  
  The moves in the employment market can be explained by policy responses to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 as well as the steep fall in active cases during April. During April many of the isolation rules surrounding ‘close contacts’ of positive COVID-19 cases were relaxed – meaning many workers who had only been hired on a part-time basis to fill in for workers forced into isolation were no longer required.
  
  As well as the change in policy, there was also a steep fall in active cases of COVID-19 during April as the Omicron variant receded and total active cases fell to their lowest since early January. These market forces led to many part-time workers falling into unemployment while a lucky few were upgraded to full-time work.
  
  
• Drop in part-time employment leads to steep rise in unemployment in April:
  
  1,411,000 Australians were unemployed (9.7% of the workforce), an increase of 278,000 from March with more people looking for both full-time work, up 172,000 to 559,000, and also part-time work, up 106,000 to 852,000.
  
  
• Under-employment was virtually unchanged in April at 1.23 million:
  
  In addition to the unemployed, 1.23 million Australians (8.4% of the workforce) were under-employed – working part-time but looking for more work, up just 7,000 from March.
  
  In total 2.64 million Australians (18.1% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in April, up 285,000 on March. This is the highest level of combined unemployment and under-employment so far this year.

Compared to early March 2020, before the nation-wide lockdown, in April 2022 there were almost 500,000 more Australians either unemployed or under-employed (+2.5% points) even though overall employment (13,151,000) is almost 300,000 higher than it was pre-COVID-19 (12,872,000).

Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 9.7% for April is more than double the ABS estimate for March 2022 of 4.0%. However, the ABS figure for March notes there were 504,100 workers who worked fewer hours than usual due to ‘bad weather or plant breakdown’ – an increase of 454,900 on the same figure for February (49,200).

In addition, there were 577,300 workers who worked fewer hours than usual due to illness, personal injury or sick leave compared to an average of 418,700 for the month of March over the six years from March 2016 – March 2021. This equates to a difference of 158,600 in March 2022 above the average for the month of March for the previous six years.

Combining these two figures shows there were 613,500 workers who were classified as employed who worked fewer hours than one would have expected in March due to either the severe weather events and flooding in Queensland and NSW (454,900) or due to sickness and ill health due to the widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 (158,600).

Roy Morgan Unemployment & Under-employment (2019-2022)

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source January 2019 – April 2022. Average monthly interviews 5,000.
Note: Roy Morgan unemployment estimates are actual data while the ABS estimates are seasonally adjusted.

Michele Levine, CEO Roy Morgan, says the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on employment markets was evident in April as cases of the ‘Omicron variant’ receded after peaking in March and forced isolation rules for close contacts were significantly reduced:

Roy Morgan Unemployed and ‘Under-employed’* Estimates

*Workforce includes those employed and those looking for work – the unemployed.

This Roy Morgan survey on Australia’s unemployment and ‘under-employed’* is based on weekly interviews of 826,017 Australians aged 14 and over between January 2007 and April 2022 and includes 5,754 telephone and online interviews in April 2022. *The ‘under-employed’ are those people who are in part-time work or freelancers who are looking for more work.

Contact Roy Morgan to learn more about Australia’s unemployed and under-employed; who and where they are, and the challenges they face as they search for employment opportunities.

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Roy Morgan Research cf. ABS Unemployment Estimates

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source October 2006 – May 2022. Average monthly interviews 4,000.
Note: Roy Morgan unemployment estimates are actual data while the ABS estimates are seasonally adjusted.

Roy Morgan Research cf. ABS Unemployment Estimates

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source January 2000 – May 2022. Average monthly interviews 4,000.
Note: Roy Morgan unemployment estimates are actual data while the ABS estimates are seasonally adjusted.

Source: Roy Morgan Single Source April 1995 – May 2022. Average monthly interviews 4,000.
Note: Roy Morgan unemployment estimates are actual data while the ABS estimates are seasonally adjusted.