Unemployment falls again
An excellent labour force result in December with another +50,000 jobs added, mainly full time, taking total employment all the way back up to 12.9 million.
Job ads have been so strong lately that total employment in Australia could conceivably hit a record high in the first quarter of 2021.
It's clear that zero immigration in the latter part of 2021 has impacted New South Wales and Victoria most of all, while the Queensland economy is faring remarkably well (thousands of Victorians relocated to Brisbane in 2020).
The participation rate increased yet again to 66.2 per cent for a remarkable turnaround since the middle of 2020.
Yet with total unemployed persons declining again from 942,100 to 912,000 in December the unemployment rate still dropped to 6.6 per cent.
The peak was seen in July 2020 at a lower than expected 7.5 per cent, and the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2021 is going to be way, way better than Treasury's forecast.
Hours worked in December were still slightly lower than a year earlier, but overall it's been a brilliant recovery.
With no growth in the labour force from net overseas migration the unemployment rate should continue to fall comfortably in 2021 with the right policy settings in place.
Australia is the envy of the world right now, but with the US, UK - and now many other countries - ramping up their vaccination programmes apace, there will be some challenging policy decisions lying ahead.
