Last month’s labour force data for Australia revealed a sluggish labour market, seemingly on the cusp of contraction as other indicators were pointing in that direction. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the latest labour force data today (May 15, 2025) – Labour Force, Australia – for April 2025, which revealed that employment growth was strong enough to absorb a 0.3 point rise in participation without increasing the unemployment rate. The broad labour underutilisation rate (sum of unemployment and underemployment) did, however, rise 0.2 points to 10.1 per cent on the back of a rise in underemployment. The fact that 10.1 per cent of available labour are not being used indicates that folly of those who claim Australia is close to full employment. There is substantial scope for more job creation given the slack that is present.