Payroll job losses at 5.7 per cent at the end of June

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today show total payroll jobs at the end of June were still 5.7 per cent below mid-March when Australia recorded its 100th COVID-19 case.

Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said” Since the low in mid-April, total payroll jobs have increased by 3.3 per cent.”

“By the end of June, around 35 per cent of payroll jobs initially lost had been regained,” Mr Jarvis said.

Payroll jobs worked by females recovered through June (recording a 0.8 per cent increase compared to a 0.1 per cent decrease for males). However, total female job losses since mid-March were still greater, at 6.0 per cent, compared to 5.4 per cent for males.

Payroll jobs worked by people under 20 recovered more than for any other age group through June, increasing by 11.3 per cent.

“By mid-April, job losses for people under 20 were around 23 per cent, but by the end of June this had reduced to around 5 per cent,” Mr Jarvis said.

The industries employing the largest proportions of persons aged under 20, Accommodation and food services and Retail trade, also saw further increases in payroll jobs through June (8.9 per cent and 1.6 per cent).

Further information is available in Weekly Payroll Jobs and Wages in Australia (cat. no. 6160.0.55.001).

The ABS would like to acknowledge the continued support from the Australian Taxation Office in enabling the ABS to produce the statistics, providing weekly insights into the Australian labour market.