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Australia's unemployment rate: what the monthly figures to September 2026 show

Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.72% in September 2026, the highest reading in the months from February to September.

Published 1 min read

  • 2026-024.31%
  • 2026-034.29%
  • 2026-044.5%
  • 2026-054.39%
  • 2026-064.45%
  • 2026-074.49%
  • 2026-084.65%
  • 2026-094.72%
Australia unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) · Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australia Unemployment rate →

What is the latest figure?

A slightly larger share of Australians who want work are now without a job than earlier in the year. In September 2026, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.72%. That is the most recent month in this data.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

The figure is a monthly rate, expressed as a percentage. Seasonal adjustment removes regular patterns, such as hiring around holidays, so one month can be compared with the next.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

What do the monthly figures show?

The rate was 4.31% in February 2026 and 4.29% in March. It then rose to 4.5% in April before easing to 4.39% in May.

Sources for this paragraph (4)

From June the rate went up every month. It was 4.45% in June, 4.49% in July, 4.65% in August and 4.72% in September.

Sources for this paragraph (4)

How does September compare with earlier months?

September's 4.72% is higher than August's 4.65%, so the rate rose over the previous month. It is also higher than every other month in this series.

Sources for this paragraph (8)

The lowest reading in the series was 4.29% in March 2026. Compared with that month, September's rate is higher. These figures do not include September 2025, so they cannot show the change over 12 months.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

What does this mean for people living in Australia?

The unemployment rate measures the share of the labour force that is looking for work but does not have a job. At 4.72% in September 2026, that share was larger than at any other point from February onwards.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

The figures describe the country as a whole. They do not show which regions, industries or age groups account for the rise, so they cannot tell any one household how its own job prospects have changed.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

What can't these figures tell us?

The data covers February to September 2026 only. It does not explain why the rate moved, and the facts here contain no information on causes.

Sources for this paragraph (2)

There is no breakdown by state, gender, age or occupation. There is also no figure yet for October 2026.

Sources for this paragraph (1)

Scenarios to watch

  • Scenario, not a forecast If the October figure comes in above 4.72%, the run of monthly rises that began in June would extend for another month.
  • Scenario, not a forecast If the October figure comes in below 4.72%, September would stand as the high point of the series so far, and later months would show whether the rate keeps easing.
  • Scenario, not a forecast If the October figure is close to September's, the rate would be holding near the top of its 2026 range rather than clearly moving in either direction.

What to check next

  • The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for October 2026 and whether it is above or below 4.72%
  • Whether the August and September figures are revised in later releases
  • Any breakdowns by state, age or industry that show where the change in the rate is concentrated

Verified data used in this report

IndicatorValuePeriodSourcesAccessed
F1Australia unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)4.31%2026-02Australian Bureau of Statistics
F2Australia unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)4.29%2026-03Australian Bureau of Statistics
F3Australia unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)4.5%2026-04Australian Bureau of Statistics
F4Australia unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)4.39%2026-05Australian Bureau of Statistics
F5Australia unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)4.45%2026-06Australian Bureau of Statistics
F6Australia unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)4.49%2026-07Australian Bureau of Statistics
F7Australia unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)4.65%2026-08Australian Bureau of Statistics
F8Australia unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted)4.72%2026-09Australian Bureau of Statistics
C1Australia consumer price inflation (12-month change)4.3%2026-09Australian Bureau of Statistics
C2Australia electricity price inflation (12-month change)12.8%2026-09Australian Bureau of Statistics
C3Australia food price inflation (12-month change)3.2%2026-09Australian Bureau of Statistics
C4Australia rent prices (CPI, 12-month change)3.6%2026-09Australian Bureau of Statistics
C6Australia GDP growth (annual %)1.35%2025World Bank
C7Australia Unemployment, total (% of labour force, ILO modelled estimate)4.09%2025World Bank
C8Australia Fertility rate, total (births per woman)1.482024World Bank
C9Australia Population aged 65 and above (% of total population)18.09%2025World Bank
C10Australia Population growth (annual %)1.53%2025World Bank

Sources

  • Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (CC BY 4.0) — license
  • Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) — license

How this report was checked

  • Data: the newest reference period cited is 2026-09.
  • Figures were collected from the source on
  • Written by an AI model (claude-opus-5-5) using only the official figures listed in this report.
  • Automatic checks passed: every number matches a cited figure, every paragraph names its evidence, and there is no investment advice or copied source text.
  • A separate quality-check model raised concerns, and the report was rewritten once to address them.
  • No person reviewed this report before publication. Automatic checks confirm the numbers, not every interpretation.
Update history
  • 2026-10-30 01:02 UTC — created
  • 2026-10-30 01:02 UTC — approved+published

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