The unemployment rate has increased slightly since the start of 2024 but remains low by historical standards, with the current rate of 4.5 per cent well below the 2010-19 average of 5.6 per cent.
The share of Victorians either working or actively looking for work (measured by the labour force participation rate) is at a record high.
Figure 1.1
![](/sites/default/files/2025-02/figure-1-1-victorian-labour-market-strong.jpg)
Figure 1.1: The Victorian labour market is strong
Table 1: Labour force participation rate
Date Labour force
participation rate (%)Average labour force
participation rate (%)Jun-2013 65.4 65.3 Jul-2013 64.9 65.3 Aug-2013 64.9 65.3 Sep-2013 64.7 65.3 Oct-2013 65.0 65.3 Nov-2013 64.8 65.3 Dec-2013 64.4 65.3 Jan-2014 64.7 65.3 Feb-2014 64.1 65.3 Mar-2014 64.3 65.3 Apr-2014 64.2 65.3 May-2014 64.4 65.3 Jun-2014 64.4 65.3 Jul-2014 64.9 65.3 Aug-2014 64.7 65.3 Sep-2014 64.9 65.3 Oct-2014 64.8 65.3 Nov-2014 64.6 65.3 Dec-2014 65.1 65.3 Jan-2015 65.1 65.3 Feb-2015 65.0 65.3 Mar-2015 65.1 65.3 Apr-2015 65.0 65.3 May-2015 64.8 65.3 Jun-2015 64.6 65.3 Jul-2015 65.1 65.3 Aug-2015 64.3 65.3 Sep-2015 64.6 65.3 Oct-2015 64.8 65.3 Nov-2015 65.1 65.3 Dec-2015 64.6 65.3 Jan-2016 64.6 65.3 Feb-2016 65.0 65.3 Mar-2016 64.9 65.3 Apr-2016 64.8 65.3 May-2016 64.9 65.3 Jun-2016 65.3 65.3 Jul-2016 65.5 65.3 Aug-2016 65.4 65.3 Sep-2016 65.4 65.3 Oct-2016 65.8 65.3 Nov-2016 65.7 65.3 Dec-2016 66.0 65.3 Jan-2017 65.4 65.3 Feb-2017 65.8 65.3 Mar-2017 65.8 65.3 Apr-2017 66.1 65.3 May-2017 66.0 65.3 Jun-2017 66.0 65.3 Jul-2017 66.0 65.3 Aug-2017 66.2 65.3 Sep-2017 66.3 65.3 Oct-2017 65.8 65.3 Nov-2017 65.9 65.3 Dec-2017 66.3 65.3 Jan-2018 66.0 65.3 Feb-2018 65.4 65.3 Mar-2018 65.5 65.3 Apr-2018 65.3 65.3 May-2018 65.5 65.3 Jun-2018 65.7 65.3 Jul-2018 65.7 65.3 Aug-2018 65.4 65.3 Sep-2018 65.6 65.3 Oct-2018 65.4 65.3 Nov-2018 65.9 65.3 Dec-2018 65.7 65.3 Jan-2019 65.9 65.3 Feb-2019 66.0 65.3 Mar-2019 65.9 65.3 Apr-2019 65.9 65.3 May-2019 65.8 65.3 Jun-2019 65.9 65.3 Jul-2019 66.0 65.3 Aug-2019 66.4 65.3 Sep-2019 66.3 65.3 Oct-2019 66.3 65.3 Nov-2019 66.2 65.3 Dec-2019 66.7 65.3 Jan-2020 66.8 65.3 Feb-2020 66.1 65.3 Mar-2020 66.1 65.3 Apr-2020 64.2 65.3 May-2020 63.3 65.3 Jun-2020 64.3 65.3 Jul-2020 64.3 65.3 Aug-2020 63.6 65.3 Sep-2020 62.5 65.3 Oct-2020 64.5 65.3 Nov-2020 65.7 65.3 Dec-2020 65.7 65.3 Jan-2021 66.3 65.3 Feb-2021 66.1 65.3 Mar-2021 66.5 65.3 Apr-2021 66.0 65.3 May-2021 66.0 65.3 Jun-2021 65.7 65.3 Jul-2021 66.3 65.3 Aug-2021 66.5 65.3 Sep-2021 64.6 65.3 Oct-2021 64.3 65.3 Nov-2021 66.6 65.3 Dec-2021 66.9 65.3 Jan-2022 66.6 65.3 Feb-2022 66.8 65.3 Mar-2022 66.7 65.3 Apr-2022 67.1 65.3 May-2022 66.5 65.3 Jun-2022 66.8 65.3 Jul-2022 66.4 65.3 Aug-2022 66.9 65.3 Sep-2022 66.5 65.3 Oct-2022 66.7 65.3 Nov-2022 67.2 65.3 Dec-2022 66.6 65.3 Jan-2023 66.5 65.3 Feb-2023 67.1 65.3 Mar-2023 67.7 65.3 Apr-2023 67.2 65.3 May-2023 67.4 65.3 Jun-2023 67.4 65.3 Jul-2023 67.6 65.3 Aug-2023 67.2 65.3 Sep-2023 67.1 65.3 Oct-2023 67.6 65.3 Nov-2023 67.5 65.3 Dec-2023 67.2 65.3 Jan-2024 67.0 65.3 Feb-2024 67.3 65.3 Mar-2024 67.4 65.3 Apr-2024 67.5 65.3 May-2024 67.8 65.3 Jun-2024 67.9 65.3 Table 2: Unemployment rate
Date Unemployment
rate (%)Average unemployment
rate (%)Jun-2013 5.9 5.6 Jul-2013 5.7 5.6 Aug-2013 5.8 5.6 Sep-2013 5.9 5.6 Oct-2013 6.1 5.6 Nov-2013 6.2 5.6 Dec-2013 6.3 5.6 Jan-2014 6.4 5.6 Feb-2014 6.3 5.6 Mar-2014 6.5 5.6 Apr-2014 6.5 5.6 May-2014 6.2 5.6 Jun-2014 6.6 5.6 Jul-2014 6.8 5.6 Aug-2014 6.8 5.6 Sep-2014 6.9 5.6 Oct-2014 7.0 5.6 Nov-2014 6.7 5.6 Dec-2014 6.4 5.6 Jan-2015 6.5 5.6 Feb-2015 5.9 5.6 Mar-2015 6.2 5.6 Apr-2015 6.2 5.6 May-2015 5.9 5.6 Jun-2015 6.0 5.6 Jul-2015 6.4 5.6 Aug-2015 5.9 5.6 Sep-2015 6.3 5.6 Oct-2015 5.7 5.6 Nov-2015 6.2 5.6 Dec-2015 6.0 5.6 Jan-2016 6.3 5.6 Feb-2016 5.8 5.6 Mar-2016 5.6 5.6 Apr-2016 5.5 5.6 May-2016 5.8 5.6 Jun-2016 5.7 5.6 Jul-2016 5.9 5.6 Aug-2016 5.5 5.6 Sep-2016 5.8 5.6 Oct-2016 5.8 5.6 Nov-2016 6.1 5.6 Dec-2016 6.1 5.6 Jan-2017 5.8 5.6 Feb-2017 6.0 5.6 Mar-2017 6.2 5.6 Apr-2017 6.1 5.6 May-2017 6.0 5.6 Jun-2017 5.9 5.6 Jul-2017 6.1 5.6 Aug-2017 6.1 5.6 Sep-2017 6.0 5.6 Oct-2017 5.8 5.6 Nov-2017 5.5 5.6 Dec-2017 6.1 5.6 Jan-2018 5.6 5.6 Feb-2018 5.6 5.6 Mar-2018 5.2 5.6 Apr-2018 5.2 5.6 May-2018 5.0 5.6 Jun-2018 5.6 5.6 Jul-2018 5.0 5.6 Aug-2018 4.8 5.6 Sep-2018 4.6 5.6 Oct-2018 4.5 5.6 Nov-2018 4.6 5.6 Dec-2018 4.2 5.6 Jan-2019 4.6 5.6 Feb-2019 4.8 5.6 Mar-2019 4.6 5.6 Apr-2019 4.8 5.6 May-2019 4.5 5.6 Jun-2019 4.9 5.6 Jul-2019 4.9 5.6 Aug-2019 4.9 5.6 Sep-2019 4.7 5.6 Oct-2019 4.8 5.6 Nov-2019 4.6 5.6 Dec-2019 4.9 5.6 Jan-2020 5.3 5.6 Feb-2020 5.3 5.6 Mar-2020 5.1 5.6 Apr-2020 5.9 5.6 May-2020 6.7 5.6 Jun-2020 7.5 5.6 Jul-2020 7.0 5.6 Aug-2020 7.1 5.6 Sep-2020 6.7 5.6 Oct-2020 7.3 5.6 Nov-2020 7.1 5.6 Dec-2020 6.4 5.6 Jan-2021 6.3 5.6 Feb-2021 5.7 5.6 Mar-2021 6.0 5.6 Apr-2021 5.3 5.6 May-2021 4.7 5.6 Jun-2021 4.6 5.6 Jul-2021 4.6 5.6 Aug-2021 4.1 5.6 Sep-2021 4.8 5.6 Oct-2021 5.6 5.6 Nov-2021 4.7 5.6 Dec-2021 4.2 5.6 Jan-2022 4.1 5.6 Feb-2022 4.2 5.6 Mar-2022 4.1 5.6 Apr-2022 4.2 5.6 May-2022 3.8 5.6 Jun-2022 3.3 5.6 Jul-2022 3.3 5.6 Aug-2022 3.8 5.6 Sep-2022 3.5 5.6 Oct-2022 3.7 5.6 Nov-2022 3.7 5.6 Dec-2022 3.5 5.6 Jan-2023 4.1 5.6 Feb-2023 3.8 5.6 Mar-2023 3.7 5.6 Apr-2023 3.9 5.6 May-2023 3.7 5.6 Jun-2023 3.7 5.6 Jul-2023 3.7 5.6 Aug-2023 3.6 5.6 Sep-2023 3.5 5.6 Oct-2023 3.9 5.6 Nov-2023 4.0 5.6 Dec-2023 4.1 5.6 Jan-2024 4.0 5.6 Feb-2024 3.9 5.6 Mar-2024 4.1 5.6 Apr-2024 4.3 5.6 May-2024 4.4 5.6 Jun-2024 4.5 5.6 Source: ABS, Labour Force, Australia, June 2024.
- Download 'Figure 1.1'
Since early 2023, most of the growth in employment has been in part-time jobs, resulting in a decline in average hours worked. In turn, there has been a pickup in the share of people who have jobs but would like to work more hours (measured by the underemployment rate), though this remains below historical averages. The female underemployment rate in Victoria (at 8.3 per cent) has increased since early 2023 but remains below the average over the prior decade, and remains higher than the male underemployment rate (5.3 per cent).
Figure 1.2
![](/sites/default/files/2025-02/figure-1-2-share-victorians-working.jpg)
Figure 1.2: The share of Victorians working part time has increased, coinciding with a rise in the underemployment rate
Table 1: Part-time share of employment
Date Females Males Victoria Jun-2013 49.5 18.9 33.0 Jul-2013 48.9 17.8 32.2 Aug-2013 49.0 17.4 32.0 Sep-2013 47.5 16.8 31.0 Oct-2013 48.0 17.9 31.8 Nov-2013 47.8 16.8 31.2 Dec-2013 48.3 17.2 31.5 Jan-2014 47.7 17.9 31.6 Feb-2014 47.2 17.3 31.0 Mar-2014 47.4 18.5 31.9 Apr-2014 47.2 17.9 31.4 May-2014 47.7 18.6 32.1 Jun-2014 47.2 19.0 32.0 Jul-2014 48.1 19.5 32.7 Aug-2014 47.8 19.6 32.6 Sep-2014 47.5 19.5 32.4 Oct-2014 47.3 19.7 32.4 Nov-2014 47.4 19.6 32.3 Dec-2014 48.2 18.5 32.3 Jan-2015 48.5 18.8 32.4 Feb-2015 48.7 19.1 32.7 Mar-2015 48.9 19.5 33.0 Apr-2015 49.7 19.3 33.4 May-2015 50.3 20.0 34.0 Jun-2015 50.5 20.3 34.2 Jul-2015 49.8 19.3 33.3 Aug-2015 50.6 19.5 33.8 Sep-2015 49.9 19.6 33.6 Oct-2015 50.2 19.8 33.8 Nov-2015 49.7 19.1 33.3 Dec-2015 48.1 18.3 31.9 Jan-2016 47.8 19.1 32.2 Feb-2016 47.9 19.7 32.6 Mar-2016 47.7 19.5 32.4 Apr-2016 48.6 20.4 33.2 May-2016 47.4 20.1 32.6 Jun-2016 47.9 19.7 32.6 Jul-2016 47.5 19.4 32.4 Aug-2016 48.7 19.3 32.9 Sep-2016 49.0 19.9 33.3 Oct-2016 50.0 19.9 33.8 Nov-2016 48.9 18.9 32.8 Dec-2016 47.9 18.6 32.2 Jan-2017 49.1 18.5 32.7 Feb-2017 48.7 18.9 32.7 Mar-2017 48.0 19.3 32.6 Apr-2017 49.0 20.3 33.6 May-2017 48.7 19.3 33.0 Jun-2017 48.6 18.9 32.6 Jul-2017 47.9 19.2 32.5 Aug-2017 48.4 19.1 32.7 Sep-2017 48.9 19.5 33.2 Oct-2017 48.2 19.5 32.9 Nov-2017 47.9 19.2 32.6 Dec-2017 47.3 18.9 32.2 Jan-2018 46.5 20.3 32.4 Feb-2018 47.1 18.7 31.9 Mar-2018 48.7 19.6 33.1 Apr-2018 47.7 19.6 32.6 May-2018 48.7 20.0 33.3 Jun-2018 48.7 18.5 32.5 Jul-2018 49.2 18.5 32.7 Aug-2018 48.8 18.6 32.5 Sep-2018 47.6 18.6 32.0 Oct-2018 47.8 18.0 31.8 Nov-2018 47.3 19.0 32.2 Dec-2018 46.4 19.1 31.9 Jan-2019 46.3 18.6 31.4 Feb-2019 46.5 18.0 31.2 Mar-2019 46.8 18.9 31.8 Apr-2019 46.9 19.3 32.3 May-2019 47.9 19.4 32.7 Jun-2019 47.8 20.0 33.0 Jul-2019 46.3 19.3 31.9 Aug-2019 47.7 20.0 33.0 Sep-2019 47.6 19.9 32.9 Oct-2019 48.2 19.0 32.8 Nov-2019 48.1 19.6 33.0 Dec-2019 46.2 20.2 32.5 Jan-2020 46.6 18.6 31.7 Feb-2020 46.9 18.5 31.9 Mar-2020 48.1 19.6 33.0 Apr-2020 45.9 18.6 31.4 May-2020 45.0 18.1 30.7 Jun-2020 46.8 18.9 31.9 Jul-2020 47.2 19.3 32.4 Aug-2020 47.2 19.5 32.4 Sep-2020 46.1 19.3 31.7 Oct-2020 47.1 19.1 32.0 Nov-2020 47.5 19.2 32.4 Dec-2020 47.0 19.0 32.1 Jan-2021 45.7 19.4 31.7 Feb-2021 45.4 19.3 31.6 Mar-2021 46.8 19.9 32.6 Apr-2021 46.4 20.2 32.6 May-2021 46.7 19.9 32.6 Jun-2021 47.0 19.6 32.4 Jul-2021 46.6 19.4 32.2 Aug-2021 47.8 19.0 32.6 Sep-2021 45.1 18.1 30.7 Oct-2021 45.4 18.1 30.8 Nov-2021 47.0 19.4 32.5 Dec-2021 46.7 18.6 31.9 Jan-2022 46.1 19.5 32.1 Feb-2022 44.7 18.9 31.1 Mar-2022 45.6 19.9 32.0 Apr-2022 45.3 19.2 31.5 May-2022 45.0 19.9 31.7 Jun-2022 44.4 19.4 31.2 Jul-2022 43.6 19.0 30.7 Aug-2022 44.7 19.4 31.5 Sep-2022 43.6 19.2 30.8 Oct-2022 43.7 19.1 30.7 Nov-2022 43.5 19.2 30.8 Dec-2022 43.1 18.8 30.4 Jan-2023 42.5 18.4 29.8 Feb-2023 42.7 18.1 29.7 Mar-2023 42.7 18.5 30.1 Apr-2023 43.0 19.4 30.6 May-2023 43.3 19.5 30.9 Jun-2023 43.3 19.1 30.8 Jul-2023 42.9 18.9 30.4 Aug-2023 44.6 19.3 31.5 Sep-2023 44.6 20.5 32.1 Oct-2023 45.5 19.6 32.1 Nov-2023 44.4 19.7 31.6 Dec-2023 44.7 19.3 31.5 Jan-2024 43.8 19.7 31.3 Feb-2024 44.7 20.1 31.9 Mar-2024 44.6 20.2 31.8 Apr-2024 45.7 20.3 32.3 May-2024 45.5 20.3 32.2 Jun-2024 46.0 19.1 31.8 Table 2: Underemployment rate
Date Female Male Victoria Jun-2013 10.3 6.2 8.1 Jul-2013 10.3 6.1 8.0 Aug-2013 10.6 6.1 8.2 Sep-2013 9.9 5.8 7.7 Oct-2013 9.6 5.8 7.5 Nov-2013 9.4 5.9 7.6 Dec-2013 9.5 6.0 7.6 Jan-2014 9.7 5.9 7.6 Feb-2014 10.3 6.1 8.0 Mar-2014 10.1 6.0 7.9 Apr-2014 10.4 6.2 8.1 May-2014 10.2 6.5 8.2 Jun-2014 10.6 6.7 8.5 Jul-2014 11.6 7.4 9.3 Aug-2014 10.5 7.4 8.9 Sep-2014 10.7 7.5 8.9 Oct-2014 10.6 6.9 8.6 Nov-2014 11.1 8.2 9.6 Dec-2014 12.0 7.3 9.5 Jan-2015 11.5 7.9 9.5 Feb-2015 11.7 6.8 9.1 Mar-2015 11.4 6.1 8.5 Apr-2015 10.2 6.3 8.1 May-2015 11.4 6.6 8.8 Jun-2015 11.2 6.5 8.6 Jul-2015 11.5 6.6 8.9 Aug-2015 10.8 6.3 8.4 Sep-2015 12.6 6.9 9.5 Oct-2015 12.4 7.0 9.5 Nov-2015 12.4 6.8 9.4 Dec-2015 11.8 6.7 9.1 Jan-2016 11.4 7.0 9.0 Feb-2016 10.9 7.2 8.9 Mar-2016 11.2 6.7 8.8 Apr-2016 11.3 7.4 9.2 May-2016 11.3 6.8 8.9 Jun-2016 11.9 7.3 9.4 Jul-2016 11.7 6.9 9.1 Aug-2016 12.3 7.1 9.5 Sep-2016 12.5 6.6 9.3 Oct-2016 12.0 7.2 9.4 Nov-2016 11.7 6.5 8.9 Dec-2016 11.9 7.1 9.3 Jan-2017 11.9 6.7 9.1 Feb-2017 11.3 7.0 9.0 Mar-2017 11.1 6.9 8.9 Apr-2017 11.0 6.8 8.8 May-2017 10.9 6.7 8.6 Jun-2017 10.0 6.8 8.3 Jul-2017 10.5 6.9 8.5 Aug-2017 10.3 7.3 8.7 Sep-2017 10.9 7.1 8.9 Oct-2017 10.3 6.9 8.5 Nov-2017 9.9 6.9 8.3 Dec-2017 10.2 6.4 8.2 Jan-2018 9.8 8.0 8.8 Feb-2018 10.1 6.5 8.2 Mar-2018 10.4 6.6 8.4 Apr-2018 9.9 5.8 7.7 May-2018 9.9 6.3 8.0 Jun-2018 10.2 6.4 8.2 Jul-2018 10.5 6.3 8.2 Aug-2018 10.1 5.9 7.9 Sep-2018 9.9 5.8 7.7 Oct-2018 10.2 5.6 7.8 Nov-2018 9.9 6.4 8.0 Dec-2018 10.4 6.4 8.3 Jan-2019 10.7 5.8 8.1 Feb-2019 10.7 6.1 8.3 Mar-2019 10.2 6.9 8.5 Apr-2019 10.2 6.7 8.3 May-2019 11.6 7.5 9.4 Jun-2019 9.7 6.4 7.9 Jul-2019 10.4 6.9 8.5 Aug-2019 10.2 6.9 8.4 Sep-2019 9.6 6.6 8.0 Oct-2019 10.3 6.3 8.2 Nov-2019 10.3 6.4 8.2 Dec-2019 9.7 6.5 8.0 Jan-2020 10.0 6.5 8.2 Feb-2020 10.2 6.4 8.2 Mar-2020 10.4 6.9 8.5 Apr-2020 15.7 12.9 14.2 May-2020 15.9 13.9 14.8 Jun-2020 13.7 12.3 13.0 Jul-2020 14.2 12.0 13.0 Aug-2020 14.4 14.1 14.3 Sep-2020 14.7 14.6 14.7 Oct-2020 14.0 12.0 12.9 Nov-2020 11.5 8.9 10.1 Dec-2020 10.9 7.3 9.0 Jan-2021 9.5 7.2 8.3 Feb-2021 9.9 8.3 9.1 Mar-2021 9.4 6.6 7.9 Apr-2021 9.1 6.3 7.6 May-2021 9.0 7.0 7.9 Jun-2021 11.2 8.7 9.9 Jul-2021 10.0 6.6 8.2 Aug-2021 10.8 8.2 9.4 Sep-2021 11.3 8.8 10.0 Oct-2021 11.1 11.6 11.4 Nov-2021 8.2 6.5 7.3 Dec-2021 7.9 5.1 6.4 Jan-2022 7.3 4.7 6.0 Feb-2022 7.3 5.2 6.2 Mar-2022 7.2 4.7 5.9 Apr-2022 7.2 5.1 6.1 May-2022 7.2 4.9 6.0 Jun-2022 7.2 5.3 6.2 Jul-2022 7.3 4.6 5.9 Aug-2022 7.1 4.5 5.8 Sep-2022 7.0 4.7 5.8 Oct-2022 6.8 5.0 5.9 Nov-2022 7.0 4.8 5.8 Dec-2022 7.6 5.0 6.2 Jan-2023 7.3 5.2 6.2 Feb-2023 6.6 4.3 5.4 Mar-2023 7.7 4.9 6.2 Apr-2023 7.2 4.9 6.0 May-2023 6.7 5.0 5.8 Jun-2023 8.0 5.3 6.6 Jul-2023 7.1 5.6 6.3 Aug-2023 7.5 5.9 6.7 Sep-2023 7.4 5.9 6.6 Oct-2023 7.5 5.5 6.5 Nov-2023 7.5 5.8 6.6 Dec-2023 7.9 4.9 6.3 Jan-2024 8.4 5.9 7.1 Feb-2024 8.4 5.9 7.1 Mar-2024 8.5 6.0 7.2 Apr-2024 8.7 5.1 6.8 May-2024 8.9 5.5 7.1 Jun-2024 8.3 5.3 6.7 Note: Part-time share are original data, underemployment rates are seasonally adjusted.
Source: ABS, Labour Force, Australia, June 2024.
- Download 'Figure 1.2'
Updated