Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data released today detailed a rise in national unemployment by 0.2 per percentage points to 3.7 per cent in July, with South Australia’s seasonally adjusted rate dropping to 4 per cent from the 4.2 per cent recorded in June.

SA no longer holds the title for the highest unemployment rate in the nation after Tasmania’s figures jumped by 1.2 percentage points to 4.7 per cent, with Queensland in second place at 4.5 per cent.

In terms of underemployment, SA has the highest rate in the country at 7.6 per cent – a monthly change of 0.4 points.

ABS data also found the average weekly earnings for full-time adults in Australia rose by 3.9 per cent over the year to May 2023, landing at $1838. South Australians are some of the lowest earners in the nation, bringing home just $1678 per week.

ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said employment dropped by around 15,000 people in July, but the number of unemployed rose by 36,000, resulting in the 3.7 per cent national unemployment rate.

“The fall in employment follows an average monthly increase of around 42,000 people during the first half of this year. Employment is still around 387,000 people higher than last July,” Jarvis said.

“July includes the school holidays, and we continue to see some changes around when people take their leave and start or leave a job. It’s important to consider this when looking at month-to-month changes, compared with the usual seasonal pattern. The only other fall in employment in 2023 was in April, which also included school holidays.

“While unemployment increased by 36,000 people in July, to 541,000, it was still around 172,000 lower than before the pandemic.”

The employment-to-population ratio fell 0.2 percentage points to 64.3 per cent, while the workforce participation rate also decreased 0.1 percentage points to 66.7 per cent.

“Despite these falls, both indicators were still well above pre-pandemic levels and close to their historical highs in May,” Jarvis said.

Hours worked in July increased by 0.2 per cent, which the ABS said reflected fewer people than usual taking leave during the school holidays.

“The strength in hours worked shows that it continues to be a tight labour market. Hours worked were 5.2 per cent higher than in July 2022, well above the 2.8 per cent annual increase in employment,” the ABS statistician said.

“The strength in hours worked over the past year, relative to employment growth, shows the demand for labour is continuing to be met, to some extent, by people working more hours.”

As for underemployment, the rate remained at 6.4 per cent in July – 2.3 percentage points lower than before the pandemic.

On the earnings data, Jarvis said the increase of 3.9 per cent – or $68 per week – represented continuing strong annual growth.

“Other than a brief spike in average earnings early in the pandemic, when lower paying jobs were particularly impacted, this is the strongest annual growth since May 2013,” he said.

“The recent rise in average earnings reflects strong wage growth in the Education and training and Health care and social assistance industries.

“The gap in average weekly ordinary full-time earnings, the most commonly cited of the gender pay gap measures, fell for the second straight cycle to the lowest level on record, down to 13.0 per cent. This lines up with the increase in full-time wages in female-dominated jobs such as teaching and nursing.”

In South Australia, the average weekly earnings for full-time workers were $1678. This was eclipsed by the nation’s top earners in Western Australia at $2039 per week and the Australian Capital Territory at $2208. The nation’s lowest was in Tasmania at $1619 per week on average.