Employment hits record
The labour force report trounced expectations, with employment rising by a massive 115,200 in May 2021 to a record high of 13,125,100.
Full-time employment overwhelmingly accounted for the May gains.
There were some quirks in the data, including from sample rotation, and this did come off the back of a negative print in April.
In fact this month's result got a huge kick from the sample rotation, which will effectively act as a drag on the growth in reported employment over the next 6 months.
A more sanguine view shows that employment increases solidly by +153,800 over the past quarter, which might be a more realistic guide as to the pace of employment gains.
The unemployment rate took a very significant drop, all the way down to 5.07 per cent, though there is still a way to go before full employment.
The unemployment rate peaked at 7.45 per cent, but has recovered quickly.
At the state level New South Wales has now seen total employment recover in full, bouncing by +308,000 from a year earlier, taking the state unemployment rate back down to 5 per cent.
Employment has also surged to a record high in Queensland, but with by far the fastest population growth in the country - at 1.1 per cent thanks to surging interstate migration from Victoria - there is still some slack in the Sunshine State, where the unemployment rate is 5.4 per cent.
Hours worked were up 13 per cent from a year earlier, due to the base effect, which outpaced the 8 per cent growth in employed persons.
Overall, another very promising result, although not quite as strong as it looked at first glance.
The Reserve Bank acknowledged the lumpy nature of the recovery and will commit to further bond buying, while again noting that the conditions for an increase to the cash rate are unlikely to be met until 2024 at the earliest (and in some scenarios, the conditions may still not be met during 2024).
