Shock jump in unemployment rate
Fresh figures released by the ABS shows the unemployment rate rose to 4.3 per cent last month, beating expectations of 4.1 per cent.
Employment as a whole rose by 2000 people this month, following a fall of 1000 in May, and is up 2 per cent year on year.
The rise in unemployment was determined as 33,600 workers became unemployed in the month of June.
This was against expectations of 20,000 jobs to be added in the month and the unemployment rate to hold.
The underemployment rate also increased to 6 per cent, as 40,200 part time roles were created and 38,200 full time roles were lost from the job market.
The employment-to-population ratio remained at 64.2 per cent, and the participation rate, being people who are actively working, rose to 67.1 per cent.
Hours worked fell 0.9 per cent in June, following a rise of 1.4 per cent in May.
ABS head of labour statistics Sean Crick said: 'This month we saw a decrease in full time hours worked, down 1.3 per cent, associated with a 0.4 per cent fall in full time employees.'
Prior to Thursday's official announcement, experts had tipped the unemployment rate to remain at 4.1 per cent, although they did predict a tightening of the jobs market.
The Reserve Bank of Australia will be watching the jobless rate ahead of its next meeting, having the dual mandate of employment and controlling inflation.
'I think the focus for the RBA will be ensuring the labour market remains healthy going forward,' NAB's head of Australian economics Gareth Spence said.
'The timing of cuts is not super important.
'It's more about where do they end up.'
In a move that shocked markets and disappointed homeowners, the RBA kept the official cash rate at 3.85 per cent during its July 8 meeting.
Most economists had already pencilled in a rate cut as well as another cut in August.
Inicia sesión para acceder a tu portafolio
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Surprise! Four-Day Work Weeks Make Employees Happier, Productive
The evidence is growing that a shorter work week is better not just for workers, but for employers as well. The largest-ever study of a four-day work week found that employees working fewer hours weren't just happier, but they also maintained productivity and had better job satisfaction, according to an article on the study published by Scientific American. In fact, the four-day work week was so successful that most companies kept the reduced schedule even after the study ended. Published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, the study looked at 2,896 employees at 141 companies in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Shorter Week, Less Stress Before shifting to the reduced four-day work week, companies involved in the study restructured their workflow to maintain 80% of a worker's weekly productivity by eliminating activities like unnecessary meetings. Some researchers suspected that the condensed schedule would lead to more stress for workers who hurried to get their tasks completed in time. 'When workers want to deliver the same productivity, they might work very rapidly to get the job done, and their well-being might actually worsen,' said lead author Wen Fan, a sociologist at Boston College in Massachusetts, in the Scientific American article. 'But that's not what we found.' Overall, workers felt better job satisfaction and reported better mental health after six months of the study. And while the study didn't look at whether companies' productivity levels dropped, it did say that 90% of companies kept the shorter work week even after the trial ended, indicating they weren't worried about a dip in profits. The study did leave some questions unanswered. For example, since employees self-reported the results, researchers wondered whether they over-emphasized the positive benefits in an effort to retain the extra day off. Read the original article on Investopedia
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
US applications for jobless benefits fall for sixth straight week, remain at historically low level
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans filing for jobless aid fell for the sixth straight week, hitting the lowest level since mid-April. The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending July 19 fell by 4,000 to 217,000. That's fewer than the 227,000 new applications analysts were expecting. Applications for unemployment aid are viewed as representative of layoffs. Earlier in July, the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added a surprising 147,000 jobs in June, adding to evidence that the American labor market continues to show resilience despite uncertainty over President Donald Trump's economic policies. The job gains were much more than expected and the unemployment rate ticked down 4.1% from 4.2% in May. Though the job market is broadly healthy by historical standards, some weakness has surfaced as employers contend with fallout from Trump's policies, especially his aggressive tariffs, which raise prices for businesses and consumers. Most economists believe the import duties make the economy less efficient by reducing competition. They also invite retaliatory tariffs from other countries, hurting U.S. exporters and potentially driving businesses to freeze hiring or cut staff. The deadline on most of Trump's stiff proposed taxes on imports were extended again until Aug. 1. Unless Trump reaches deals with countries to lower the tariffs, economists fear they could act as a drag on the economy and trigger another bout of inflation. Companies that have announced job cuts this year include Procter & Gamble, Workday, Dow, CNN, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Google and Facebook parent company Meta. The Labor Department's report Thursday showed that the four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, declined by 5,000 to 224,500. The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits for the week of July 12 remained stable, rising by just 4,000 to 1.96 million.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Capricorn Metals to acquire Warriedar Resources in Australia
Capricorn Metals and Warriedar Resources have announced a binding scheme implementation deed under which Capricorn will acquire 100% of the securities in Warriedar by way of a Court-approved scheme of arrangement. This acquisition is structured to provide Warriedar shareholders with a fixed exchange ratio of one new Capricorn share for every 62 Warriedar shares. Upon the implementation of the scheme, Warriedar shareholders will own approximately 4.36% of all issued shares in Capricorn. Based on Capricorn's closing price of A$9.60 ($6.32) per share on 23 July 2025, the transaction suggests a value of approximately A$0.155 per Warriedar share, which represents a 29% premium over Warriedar's closing share price of A$0.12 on 23 July 2025. The scheme is contingent upon several conditions including an independent expert's conclusion that it is in the best interests of Warriedar shareholders. Additionally, customary conditions such as regulatory approvals and the absence of material adverse changes must be satisfied. Capricorn gains ownership of Warriedar's flagship Golden Range project through the acquisition. The project encompasses the Ricciardo gold-antimony deposit and the Fields Find gold project, all situated 90km north of Capricorn's promising Mt Gibson gold project. Capricorn executive chairman Mark Clark said: 'This is a compelling transaction for all stakeholders, and we believe that combining Capricorn and Warriedar represents a unique opportunity to generate value for shareholders of both companies. 'This acquisition is on-strategy and continues the expansion of Capricorn's Mt Gibson exploration and development footprint and adds resource ounces, highly prospective exploration targets and valuable infrastructure, which will further enhance what is clearly one of the best development projects in the Australian gold industry.' In addition to the share acquisition, the parties have agreed on a separate scheme of arrangement for the outstanding Warriedar listed options. Under this option scheme, Warriedar listed options will be exchanged for new Capricorn options at the same exchange ratio as the share scheme. The existing A$0.10 exercise price per listed option will be adjusted to A$6.20, maintaining the same expiry date of 11 April 2028. The option scheme is conditional upon the approval of the scheme for Warriedar shares by the requisite majority. The Warriedar Board has unanimously recommended that listed optionholders vote in favour of the option scheme, provided no superior proposal emerges and an independent expert concludes that it is in the best interests of the option-holders. Additionally, Warriedar performance rights must be cancelled or vested as a condition of the scheme, with the resulting Warriedar shares subject to the scheme. Capricorn also intends to enter into private treaty arrangements with holders of unlisted options in Warriedar. Warriedar non-executive chairman Mark Connelly said: 'In addition to delivering an attractive premium, this transaction allows Warriedar shareholders to retain ongoing but significantly de-risked, exposure to the exploration and development of the Golden Range project, more diversified enterprise with a strong balance sheet, cash flow generation and technical expertise, all of which will support the successful exploration and development of the Ricciardo gold-antimony deposit.' Longreach Capital is serving as financial adviser for Capricorn, while Corrs Chambers Westgarth is the legal adviser for the scheme. Warriedar has engaged Discovery Capital Partners as its financial adviser and Thomson Geer as its legal adviser. In May, Sabre Resources completed the sale of its Ninghan gold project tenements in the southern Murchison region of Western Australia to Capricorn Metals for A$1.6m. "Capricorn Metals to acquire Warriedar Resources in Australia" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio