In March 2025, Australian ‘real’ unemployment dropped 230,000 to 1,604,000 (down 1.3% to 10.2% of the workforce) with significantly fewer people looking for work.
There were two drivers of the decrease in unemployment including the increases in full-time employment, up 29,000 to 9,385,000 and part-time employment, up 34,000 to 4,801,000. In addition, some people previously classified left the workforce, which dropped 167,000 to 15,790,000.
The March Roy Morgan Unemployment estimates were obtained by surveying an Australia-wide cross section of people aged 14+. A person is classified as unemployed if they are looking for work, no matter when. The ‘real’ unemployment rate is presented as a percentage of the workforce (employed & unemployed).
- Australian workforce contracts as some unemployed people decide to leave the workforce:
In March the Australian workforce dropped 167,000 to 15,790,000 as many of those unemployed decided to leave the workforce while there was also an increase in both full-time and part-time employment.
- Overall employment increased in March driven by increases in full-time and part-time employment:
Australian employment increased 63,000 to 14,186,000. This increase was driven by jumps in both full-time employment; up 29,000 to 9,385,000, and part-time employment, up 34,000 to 4,801,000.
- Unemployment decreased in March driven by people leaving the workforce and others finding jobs:
1,604,000 Australians were unemployed (10.2% of the workforce, down 1.3%), a decrease of 230,000 from February. The decrease in unemployment was driven by drops in people looking for part-time work, down 101,000 to 957,000, and fewer people looking for full-time work, down 129,000 to 647,000.
- Overall unemployment and under-employment was down 2.4% to 19.3% in March:
In addition to the unemployed, a further 1.43 million Australians (9.1% of the workforce) were under-employed, i.e. working part-time but looking for more work, down 199,000 from February. In total 3.03 million Australians (19.3% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in March.
- Comparisons with three years ago, at the time of the last Federal Election (May 2022) and nearing the end of COVID-19 restrictions a few months later, show a rapidly increasing workforce is driving employment growth (2025 vs. 2022):
The workforce in March was at a near record 15,790,000 (up 1,377,000 from May 2022) – comprised of 14,186,000 employed Australians (up 942,000 from two years ago).
ABS Comparison
Roy Morgan’s unemployment figure of 10.2% is clearly more than double the ABS estimate of 4.1% for February and is in line with the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 10.0%.
The latest monthly figures from the ABS indicate that the people working fewer hours in February 2025 due to illness, injury or sick leave was 477,600. Significantly, this is over 90,000 higher than the pre-pandemic average of the five years to February 2019 (382,100) – a difference of 95,500.
If this higher than pre-pandemic average of workers (95,500) who are working fewer hours due to illness, injury or sick leave is added to the combined ABS unemployment and under-employment figure of 1,512,000 we find a total of 1,607,500 people could be considered unemployed or under-employed, equivalent to 10.6% of the workforce.
Roy Morgan Unemployment & Under-employment (2019-2025)
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source January 2019 – March 2025. Average monthly interviews 5,000.
Note: Roy Morgan unemployment estimates are actual data while the ABS estimates are seasonally adjusted.
Michele Levine, CEO Roy Morgan, says the latest Roy Morgan employment estimates for March shows unemployment (10.2%) down for the first time this year with an increase in overall employment and over 150,000 people leaving the workforce driving the dip in unemployment:
“The latest Roy Morgan employment estimates for March show total Australian unemployment or under-employment down a significant 429,000 to 3,033,000 (19.3% of the workforce, down 2.4%).
“There were substantial reductions in both unemployment, down 230,000 to 1,604,000 (10.2% of the workforce, down 1.3%) and under-employment, down 199,000 to 1,429,000 (9.1%, down 1.1%).
“The decrease was driven by 167,000 people leaving the workforce and an increase in jobs, up 63,000 to 14,186,000. The increase in employment was broad-based with full-time employment increasing 29,000 to 9,385,000 and part-time employment increasing 34,000 to 4,801,000.
“As we approach a Federal Election in early May it is instructive to look back at how the workforce composition has changed since the last election in May 2022 nearly three years ago. Since the Federal Election in May 2022 the population has increased by over 1.7 million, the workforce has increased by over 1.3 million and employment has grown by well over 900,000.
“These figures are around twice as high as the long-term averages over the 20 years from 2000 to early 2020 (pre COVID-19). Over this period population growth averaged around 280,000 per year (840,000 over three years) and the workforce grew by an average of around 230,000 per year (690,000 over three years).
“Despite the record employment growth over the last three years, there are still a significant number of people who have joined the workforce without finding employment – a total of 435,000 since the last Federal Election. This influx of people into the workforce has meant unemployment is up significantly over the last three years from 8.1% of the workforce to 10.2% (up 2.1%).
“Looking back since the last Federal Election the rapidly increasing Australian population and workforce has led to a persistently high level of labour under-utilisation. Since July 2022 total unemployed and under-employed has been permanently above 2.5 million, and since April 2023 total labour under-utilisation has been stuck above 2.6 million and averaged nearly 3 million over the last two years.
“These figures show that as we head towards a Federal Election the economy continues to deal with millions of Australians looking for work (unemployed) or looking for more work (under-employed).
“Despite the sustained rise in levels of labour under-utilisation since the last Federal Election in May 2022 the latest Roy Morgan Poll shows the Albanese Government is on track to be re-elected, and likely with an increased majority in Parliament (ALP 54.5% cf. L-NP 45.5%).”
This Roy Morgan survey on Australia’s unemployment and ‘under-employed’* is based on weekly interviews of 942,119 Australians aged 14 and over between December 2008 and March 2025 and includes 7,084 telephone and online interviews in March 2025. *The ‘under-employed’ are those people who are in part-time work or freelancers who are looking for more work.
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