Home topics news Generated using AI News News Unemployment rate rises to 3.8% in March Yajush Gupta April 19, 2024 The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has reported a slight increase in the country’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to 3.8% in March. According to the ABS, this rise is attributed to a decrease in employment by around 7,000 people, coupled with a surge in the number of unemployed individuals by 21,000. CreditorWatch, Anneke Thompson, Chief Economist said: “After a very strong employment growth figure in February, employment growth in March 2024 returned to more normal levels. In trend terms, the unemployment rate remained stable at 3.9 per cent for the fifth month in a row, while in seasonally adjusted terms, unemployment increased by 0.1 percentage point to 3.8 per cent, which is where the rate sat in October 2023. “Taken together, what this means is that while employment growth has been strong, it has really kept pace with population growth throughout the last few months. Pent up demand for labour in areas such as healthcare (particularly NDIS related jobs) as well as education and construction has contributed to good jobs growth, and the labour market has absorbed the additional labour supply that migrants have provided at a steady pace. “The number of unemployed people has increased by 11.2 per cent over the year to March 2024, which is a much higher rate than the increase in employment, which has grown by 2.4 per cent over the same time period –