It was driven by a 14,600 fall in total employment,the largest monthly drop in jobs since October 2021. The total number of people without a job increased by 35,600.
Much of the damage was in NSW,where the jobless rate jumped by 0.4 percentage points to 3.3 per cent. The result would have been much worse but for a 0.3 percentage point fall in the number of people in work or looking for it.
The state shed almost 25,000 jobs in the month,including 17,600 full-time roles.
Queensland’s jobless rate increased by 0.8 percentage points to a 19-month high of 4.5 per cent. In Tasmania,unemployment leapt by 1.2 percentage points to 4.7 per cent – the highest rate since November 2021.
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There remain pockets of strong jobs growth. The unemployment rate among women in Victoria fell to a record low of 3.3 per cent after another 5400 entered the jobs market. Over the past year,90,600 more Victorian women have a job,of which two-thirds are in full-time employment.
The figures also suggest employers are squeezing more work out of their staff. Hours worked increased another 0.2 per cent after a 0.4 per cent increase in June. Over the past year,hours worked have jumped by 5.2 per cent.