Australia’s Unemployment Rate holds steady at 4.3% in March as expected

Australia’s Unemployment Rate steadied at 4.3% in March, according to the official data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday. The figure came in line with the market consensus.Furthermore, the Australian Employment Change arrived at 17.9K in March from 49.7K in February (revised from 48.9K), compared with the consensus forecast of 20K.The participation rate in Australia decreased to 66.8% in March from 66.9% in February. Meanwhile, Full-Time Employment increased by 52.5K in the same period from a fall of 27.7K in the previous reading (revised from -30.5K). The Part-Time Employment decreased by 34.6K in March versus a rise of 77.3K prior (revised from 79.4K).Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, said with the key highlights noted belowFull-time employment rose for both males and females, increasing by 29,000 and 24,000 respectively.Both the number of males and females working part-time fell this month, down 19,000 and 16,000 respectively.This month people worked 9.2 million more hours, with full-time hours increasing by 7.1 million and part-time hours increasing by 2.1 million hours. Market reaction to the Australia’s employment dataThe Australian Dollar (AUD) attracts some sellers following the employment data. At the time of writing, the AUD/USD pair is trading 0.06% lower on the day to trade at 0.7165.
Australian Dollar Price This week
The table below shows the percentage change of Australian Dollar (AUD) against listed major currencies this week. Australian Dollar was the strongest against the US Dollar.

USD
EUR
GBP
JPY
CAD
AUD
NZD
CHF

USD

-1.09%
-1.30%
-0.48%
-0.97%
-2.52%
-1.86%
-1.17%

EUR
1.09%

-0.21%
0.54%
0.16%
-1.37%
-0.76%
-0.07%

GBP
1.30%
0.21%

0.71%
0.37%
-1.16%
-0.56%
0.14%

JPY
0.48%
-0.54%
-0.71%

-0.47%
-1.96%
-1.28%
-0.70%

CAD
0.97%
-0.16%
-0.37%
0.47%

-1.41%
-0.81%
-0.21%

AUD
2.52%
1.37%
1.16%
1.96%
1.41%

0.66%
1.27%

NZD
1.86%
0.76%
0.56%
1.28%
0.81%
-0.66%

0.70%

CHF
1.17%
0.07%
-0.14%
0.70%
0.21%
-1.27%
-0.70%

The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Australian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent AUD (base)/USD (quote).
This section below was published at 20:30 GMT on Wednesday as a preview of the Australia Employment reportThe Australian Unemployment Rate is forecast to hold at 4.3% in March.Australia is expected to have added 20K jobs in the month, fewer than the 48.9K gained in February.AUD/USD could reach fresh 2026 highs with upbeat employment data.Australia will publish the monthly employment report for March on Thursday at 01:30 GMT, and market participants expect a modest increase in job creation. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is expected to announce that the country added 20K new jobs in the month, while the Unemployment Rate is forecast at 4.3%, unchanged from February. The Participation Rate, in the meantime, stood at 66.9% in the previous month.The ABS reports both full-time and part-time positions through the monthly Employment Change. Generally speaking, full-time jobs entail working 38 hours or more per week, usually include additional benefits, and typically provide a consistent income. On the other hand, part-time employment generally means higher hourly rates but lacks consistency and benefits. That’s why the economy prefers full-time jobs. In February, Australia gained 79.4K part-time positions and lost 30.5K full-time ones.Australian unemployment rate steady in MarchAustralia's employment figures may be overshadowed by ongoing optimism. The Australian Dollar (AUD) is firmly up against the battered US Dollar (USD) as investors assess the developments of the Iran war. An extension of the ceasefire between the United States (US) and Iran is on the table, boosting the market’s mood despite the double blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.The ongoing crisis in the Middle East dominates financial markets, as the interruption of crude oil and gas supply has boosted inflationary pressures globally. Central banks are shifting towards a more hawkish monetary policy approach, although that’s not the case for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) which turned hawkish ahead of the war, amid domestic capacity pressures keeping inflation above target and strength in the labor market, according to the statement accompanying the March monetary policy decision. The Iran war was just another factor that lean the scale towards a tighter monetary policy.As a result, the RBA hiked interest rates, increasing the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points to 4.1%, as policymakers noted that, “while inflation has fallen substantially since its peak in 2022, it picked up materially in the second half of 2025.” It was quite a split decision, with policymakers voting 5:4 in favor of a hike.The anticipated employment figures are not really outstanding, and 20K new jobs are hardly enough to prompt by themself a RBA reaction, but coupled with domestic inflationary pressures and the extension of the Iran figure, will pretty much confirm more interest rate hikes are coming this year.Stronger-than-anticipated job creation, coupled with a decreasing Unemployment Rate, should reinforce rate hike expectations and hence, push the Aussie up against most major rivals. A dismal employment report, on the other hand, could help diminish concerns about the labor market’s strength, but it won’t be sufficient to consider a shift in the current hawkish monetary policy. Near term, it could weigh on the AUD, but as long as risk-on backs USD weakness, the pair is likely to resume its advance once market players digest the news and turn back their eyes to the Middle East.When will the Australian employment report be released and how could it affect AUD/USD?The ABS March employment report will be released early on Thursday. As previously noted, the Australian economy is expected to have added 20K new jobs in the month, while the Unemployment Rate is forecast at 4.3%. Market participants will also be attentive to the breakdown of full-time and part-time positions.Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXStreet, notes: “The AUD/USD pair trades well above the 0.7100 mark and a handful of pips below the 2026 peak at 0.7187 ahead of the employment report release. The technical picture is bullish and there’s a good chance that upbeat data hinting at additional rate hikes would push the pair beyond the mentioned top. The pair could initially run towards the 0.7230 region, while additional gains will find the next resistance at 0.7270.”Bednarik adds: “As long as markets remain optimistic about the Iran war, the Greenback is set to remain on the back foot, which means the bearish scope for AUD/USD is limited. Employment figures need to be really discouraging to trigger a decline, which, anyway, should be short-lived. The immediate downward barrier is the 0.7100 threshold, followed by the 0.7060 price zone. Further declines seem unlikely within the release, although sudden USD demand can push the pair down to 0.7000.”

Employment FAQs

How do employment levels affect currencies?

Labor market conditions are a key element to assess the health of an economy and thus a key driver for currency valuation. High employment, or low unemployment, has positive implications for consumer spending and thus economic growth, boosting the value of the local currency. Moreover, a very tight labor market – a situation in which there is a shortage of workers to fill open positions – can also have implications on inflation levels and thus monetary policy as low labor supply and high demand leads to higher wages.

Why is wage growth important?

The pace at which salaries are growing in an economy is key for policymakers. High wage growth means that households have more money to spend, usually leading to price increases in consumer goods. In contrast to more volatile sources of inflation such as energy prices, wage growth is seen as a key component of underlying and persisting inflation as salary increases are unlikely to be undone. Central banks around the world pay close attention to wage growth data when deciding on monetary policy.

How much do central banks care about employment?

The weight that each central bank assigns to labor market conditions depends on its objectives. Some central banks explicitly have mandates related to the labor market beyond controlling inflation levels. The US Federal Reserve (Fed), for example, has the dual mandate of promoting maximum employment and stable prices. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) sole mandate is to keep inflation under control. Still, and despite whatever mandates they have, labor market conditions are an important factor for policymakers given its significance as a gauge of the health of the economy and their direct relationship to inflation.