Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate inched up to 4.6% in August, surpassing both market expectations and July’s figure of 4.5%. It was the highest since November 2021, as the number of unemployed increased by 28,200 to a five-year high of 722,900 from 694,700 in July, with the number of part-time employees increasing by 12,500 to 242,000, while the number of full-time employees climbed by 15,700 to 481,000. Meanwhile, employment rose by 39,500 to 14.84 million, above expectations for a 20,000 increase, after an upwardly revised loss of 15,900 jobs in July. Part-time employment advanced by 45,800 to 4.64 million, while full-time employment decreased by 6,300 to 10.19 million. The participation rate edged up to 67.1%, above expectations and July’s figure of 66.9%, marking the highest since April 2025. Meanwhile, the underemployment rate edged down to 6.2% from 6.3% in July. Total monthly hours worked across all jobs increased by 14 million to 2,009 million