Unemployment eases but trend rate hits four-year high

Headline unemployment rate eases but trend unemployment highest in four years Thu 25 Jun 2026 at 12:00pm Australia's unemployment rate slipped to 4.4 per cent in May, down from 4.5 per cent in April, in seasonally adjusted terms. Data show 40,300 extra people gained employment in May, and the number of unemployed people declined by 18,300. But in trend terms, which smooths out seasonal volatility, the unemployment rate lifted slightly to 4.4 per cent, up from 4.3 per cent, its highest level in trend terms since the lockdown period ended in 2022. Over the last four years, the unemployment rate has been very slowly trending higher as the Reserve Bank has tried to support the economy through multiple supply-side shocks while bringing inflation down. Today's data confirms that long-term upward trend in the unemployment rate continues. In the RBA's recent forecasts, it had the unemployment rate sitting at 4.3 per cent by the end of this year, 4.4 per cent by June 2027, and 4.6 per cent by the end of 2027.