Australia’s jobless rate declines as fewer people seek work

Bloomberg

Australia’s unemployment rate fell to the lowest in almost three years in August as fewer people sought work, while the economy unexpectedly shed jobs.
Employment dropped 3,900 from July; economists forecast 15,000 gain Jobless rate declined to 5.6% from 5.7%; economists forecast 5.7% Full-time jobs rose by 11,500; part-time employment fell by 15,400 Participation rate, a measure of labor force as a share of population, declined to 64.7% from 64.9%; economists predicted 64.9%
The drop in unemployment is a gift for a government struggling to assert its authority in a parliament where it holds a razor-thin majority; yet the rise in people leaving the labor force suggests a level of discouragement that points to plenty of slack. The central bank has eased policy twice since May as it tries to boost inflation and tame an elevated local dollar; the picture is further clouded by the hiring of 38,000 people for a population count.
The “fall in employment in August is probably even worse than it looks as employment last month was boosted by people being temporarily employed to conduct the census,” said Paul Dales, chief Australia and New Zealand economist at Capital Economics Ltd. “Even so, the forward-looking business surveys are consistent with employment continuing to grow.”