Australia's job cuts hit 108,300 as unemployment climbs to 4.7 per cent
Australia laid off 108,300 workers in July and August. Unemployment reached 4.7 per cent. Job competition grew sharply.
Australia is in the grip of a job cuts wave. The Bureau of Statistics reports 108,300 people laid off in July and August alone.
If September was similar, it will be the highest quarterly total since August 2021. Unemployment has climbed to 4.7 per cent, the highest since October 2021.
Banking, finance, technology and professional services were hit hardest. Job hunting has become much harder.
SEEK reports applications per vacancy rose 1.7 per cent in September. LinkedIn data shows applicants per role have nearly doubled since early 2022.
Job seekers say competition is the biggest obstacle. Almost 70 per cent of Australians now believe finding work has become harder in the past year.
AI is making the picture more complex. Candidates can apply faster than before.
But employers face stacks of AI-polished resumes. Genuine talent is harder to identify.
- 108,300
- Retrenchments July-August
- 4.7 percent
- Unemployment rate September
- 3 months typical
- Job search delay
Why it mattersJob losses are speeding up while competition for open roles grows sharper. This creates money pressure and worry for millions of Australians.
AustraliaAustralians seeking work face record competition for jobs, threatening household budgets and confidence as redundancies spread across major sectors.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 2 d ago
