Economics Updates

Data released by the ABS this morning shows the employment position in FNQ improved in Dec. The headline unemployment rate fell from 9.2% in Nov to just 6.5% in Dec.
This came as the number employed fell by 500 while those unemployed also fell sharply by 4,400. The reason for this seeming disconnect is the Participation Rate which fell from 69.6 to just 67.2. These non-seasonally adjusted (and highly volatile) figures compare to a static nationwide unemployment rate of 5.2% and a rate in QLD of 5.4% (down from 5.7%).
The Conus seasonal adjustment of the data also paints a healthy picture with the seasonally adjusted rate of unemployment falling to just 5.1% (down from 6.9%) with the number employed stable, while the number unemployed fell by 4,000. We should caution that with only 4 years of data for FNQ this seasonally adjusted series is itself liable to significant revision as times go by. However, what it shows is a clear trend of a falling unemployment rate in the region from the peaks seen in Q4 2009.