Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE

ABS has a new stab at job figures

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its October labour force report under a new formula to combat recent volatility in the series.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will be hoping its latest job figures will get a better reception than the widespread scepticism to its recent employment reports.

The bureau will release its October labour force figures on Thursday under a new formula to try and counter previous seasonal adjustment problems that had been resulting in volatile data results.

It released revisions to past months' data earlier this week under its new figuring which meant that jobs growth in 2014 has been downgraded to 98,700 rather than 125,000, while the jobless rate as of September was 6.2 per cent instead of 6.1 per cent.

Prior to the revisions, economists had tentatively forecast a 10,000 increase in employment during October and a jobless rate of 6.1 per cent.

Forward indicators of employment, such as the ANZ job advertisement series, are pointing to improving opportunities for job seekers.


1 min read

Published

Updated


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Watch now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world