According to the Household Labour Force Survey, the number of unemployed individuals aged 15 and over dropped by 27,000 to 3.011 million in May 2024 compared to the previous month. The unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, with the rate for men estimated at 7.0% and for women at 11.0%.

The survey also revealed that the seasonally adjusted employment rate increased to 50.0%, with the number of employed persons rising by 273,000 to 32.920 million in May 2024. This marks a 0.4 percentage point increase from the previous month, with an employment rate of 67.3% for men and 33.0% for women.

The labour force participation rate rose to 54.5% in May 2024, an increase of 0.3 percentage point from the previous month. The number of persons in the labour force increased by 245,000 to 35.931 million. The participation rate was 72.4% for men and 37.1% for women.

The seasonally adjusted youth unemployment rate for individuals aged 15-24 increased to 15.0%, a rise of 0.3 percentage point from the previous month. The rate was estimated at 12.8% for men and 19.3% for women.

The seasonally and calendar-adjusted average weekly actual working hours were 43.9 hours in May 2024, a decrease of 0.3 hours compared to the previous month.

The composite measure of labour underutilization, which includes time-related underemployment, potential labour force, and unemployment, was 25.2% in May 2024, down by 2.0 percentage points from the previous month.

The combined rate of time-related underemployment and unemployment was 17.4%, while the combined rate of unemployment and potential labour force was estimated at 17.1%. (ILKHA)