Economics
Australia Unemployment Drops as Half of Jobs Lost Recovered
- All states and territories recorded job gains except Victoria
- Government job support, central bank stimulus boost recovery
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Australian unemployment unexpectedly fell as fiscal and monetary stimulus helped the labor market withstand Victoria’s renewed lockdown, with more than half of the jobs lost from the pandemic now recovered.
The jobless rate dropped to 6.8% in August from 7.5% a month earlier versus a median estimate of an increase to 7.7%, data from the statistics bureau showed Thursday in Sydney. Employment surged by 111,000 in August, with all states and territories outside of Victoria gaining, and completely wrong-footing analyst estimates of 35,000 drop.