Australian labour market conditions weakened sharply in June, with Roy Morgan’s measure of “real unemployment” rising 1 percentage point to 11.7% as total employment fell for a fourth consecutive month.
The number of unemployed Australians increased by 156,000 to 1.86 million, while overall employment declined by 128,000 to 14.03 million.
Combined unemployment and under-employment reached 3.35 million people, representing 21.1% of the workforce and marking the 19th consecutive month in which labour under-utilisation has remained above three million.
Part-time employment drives decline
The drop in employment was driven by a substantial fall in part-time work, which decreased by 279,000 to 4.96 million.
Full-time employment provided some support, increasing by 151,000 to 9.07 million and accounting for 64.7% of employed Australians.
Roy Morgan estimated Australia’s workforce increased by 28,000 during June to 15.89 million, representing 67.7% of Australians aged 14 and older.
However, this workforce growth was entirely driven by the increase in people looking for work.
The number seeking full-time employment rose by 93,000 to 693,000, while those looking for part-time work increased by 63,000 to 1.17 million.
Labour under-utilisation remains elevated
Under-employment was broadly steady, falling by 15,000 to 1.49 million people, or 9.4% of the workforce.
Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine said the results showed employment conditions remained weak despite the increase in full-time positions.
“Most concerningly, there was a fall in employment, down 128,000 to 14,028,000, and now down for a fourth straight month,” Levine said.
“Although the rise in full-time employment is positive, the labour force estimates show employment markets remain weak with part-time employment down for two straight months and overall employment down from earlier this year.”
Consumer confidence edges higher
The weaker employment figures came as the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index recorded a modest improvement in July.
CreditorWatch chief economist Ivan Colhoun said falling oil prices and easing concerns about further interest rate increases had supported sentiment.
However, household confidence remained deeply pessimistic as cost-of-living pressures continued to weigh on consumers.
Colhoun said a sharp decline in unemployment expectations suggested recent concerns had been driven more by Middle East tensions and higher petrol prices than by expectations of a material weakening in the labour market.
He also expects the Reserve Bank of Australia may have further monetary tightening ahead, although another interest rate increase is considered more likely later in 2026 or early 2027 than in August.
About the survey
Roy Morgan classifies a person as unemployed when they are looking for work, regardless of how recently they have actively searched.
Its under-employment measure includes people working part-time or as freelancers who are seeking additional work.
The June estimates were based on 6,134 telephone and online interviews with Australians aged 14 and older, forming part of a long-running survey covering more than 978,000 interviews since January 2010.