Economics
Australian Unemployment Soars on Record Back-to-Back Job Losses
- Jobs lost last month almost three times the forecast number
- Monthly hours worked have fallen by 10.2% since March: ABS
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Australian unemployment surged in May as the economy posted its biggest back-to-back monthly job losses on record amid restrictions to stem the coronavirus outbreak. The currency tumbled after the release.
The jobless rate climbed to 7.1% from a revised 6.4% in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. Employment plunged by 227,700 last month, while April’s fall was upwardly revised to 607,400. The result was almost three times the median estimate for a 78,800 drop, and worse than the forecast of every economist but one.