There is no point worrying too much about monthly movements in the labour force data, as several months of data are usually necessary to identify clear trends, as I noted in my previous post Media over-reacts to jobs data. Hence, I remain confident in the strength of the Queensland economy despite the increase in the Queensland unemployment rate from 5.7% in July to 6.2% in August (seasonally adjusted), as reported by the ABS today.
Even if today’s data are correct, the increase in the unemployment rate isn’t due to a loss of jobs, but to a large surge in people looking for work. Employment didn’t fall in August, but instead increased modestly by 1,800 jobs, and the increase in unemployment is largely related to the significant increase in the labour force participation rate from 67.4% to 67.7%. In a way, this may be seen as a sign of people’s confidence in the economy and the potential to find work. OESR has a reasonable write up here:
Queensland Economy Watch 