Australia’s unemployment rate edged down to 4.2 per cent in July, as full-time hiring outpaced a fall in part-time work and total hours nudged higher, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Sean Crick, the ABS head of labour statistics, said: ‘With employment rising by 25,000 people and the number of unemployed decreasing by 10,000 people, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 4.2 per cent in July.’
ABS data show the July increase in employment was driven by a 60,000 rise in full-time positions, partly offset by a 36,000 decrease in part-time jobs. Female full-time employment rose by 40,000, while male full-time employment increased by 20,000.
The headline gains saw the employment-to-population ratio lift slightly to 64.2 per cent, while the participation rate held at 67.0 per cent. For women, both measures hit new highs: the female employment-to-population ratio reached 60.9 per cent and the participation rate rose to 63.5 per cent.
Total hours worked rose 0.3 per cent over the month, outpacing the 0.2 per cent growth in employment. On an index basis (June 2022 = 100), seasonally adjusted employment stood at 107.7 in July 2025 and hours worked at 107.4, up from 107.6 and 107.0 respectively in June 2025.
Slack in the labour market also narrowed. The underemployment rate eased to 5.9 per cent in July, down 0.1 percentage points on the month and 0.5 percentage points on a year earlier. The underutilisation rate, which combines unemployment and underemployment, fell to 10.1 per cent, down 0.2 percentage points in July and 0.4 percentage points over the year. Both measures remain well below their March 2020 levels.
On the underlying trend measures, the unemployment rate was steady at 4.2 per cent, with employment up around 25,000 people (0.2 per cent) in July and 2.0 per cent over the year. ‘Trend annual employment growth has been faster than population growth for most of the past year, but has slowed in recent months to be in line with annual population growth in July,’ Mr Crick said.
Trend monthly hours worked rose 0.1 per cent, consistent with the pattern seen since the start of 2025. ‘In trend terms, the participation rate rose marginally to 67.1 per cent in July, while the employment-to-population ratio stayed at 64.2 per cent,’ Mr Crick said.
The ABS said more detailed regional labour market data will be published in the July 2025 issue of Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, on Thursday 21 August 2025.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
