Fri, 11 May 2012

The unemployment rate in Australia in April dropped to 4.9%, down from the 5.1% rate reported in March, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The number of people in work increased by 15,500 to 11.5m, while the number of people unemployed dropped by 28,800 to just under 600,000. However, there was a net drop of 10,500 of people in full-time employment, offset by full-time employment, which rose by 26,000.

ABS’s reading for monthly aggregate hours worked rose by 0.4% to 1,633.9m hours.

A statement from the office of the minister for employment and workplace relations Bill Shorten notes that this is “one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the industrialised world and less than half that of the euro area”.

Shorten also underlines the government commitment to the Building Australia’s Future Workforce (BAFW) campaign, which is investing AUS$3.02bn (£1.88bn) over six years into skills and training to “ensure more Australians have the opportunity to share in the nation’s prosperity”, according to the department.