Today’s ABS labour force data weren’t encouraging for Queensland, with the unemployment rate remaining significantly higher than the national average, as shown in this chart from OESR’s labour force brief:

I remain of the view that Queensland’s higher unemployment rate is due in large part to the public sector restraint we’ve experienced over the last six months, and the labour market will recover soon, though maybe not until a few months into the new year.

Observations by other Queensland econ bloggers on the latest labour force data can be found at the links below:

Unemployment rate stays at 5.4pct, but QLD still weak

The Queensland participation rate cliff