Employment deteriorates

In WA, seasonally adjusted employment increased by just 0.3 per cent through the year to November, the lowest annual growth since 1996. Employment fell by 0.2 per cent between October and November.

Nationally, employment rose by 2 per cent, on a seasonally adjusted basis, in the 12 months to November. Despite this weak but positive annual growth, employment has fallen by 1 per cent in the past 3 months, and fell by 0.6 per cent between October and November.

Both in WA and nationally, part-time employment accounted for most of the reduction in jobs between October and November. And at state and national levels, a falling participation rate prevented the drop in employment from translating into a larger increase in the unemployment rate.