The Job Market Looks Fine If You Stop Counting the People Who've Left It

SMH · Shane Wright · Thursday 16 April 2026

The Job Market Looks Fine If You Stop Counting the People Who've Left It

Australia's unemployment held at 4.1% with a jump in full-time jobs, but the participation rate fell as fewer people looked for work. Economist Saul Eslake warns a rate rise could tip the economy into recession.

Unemployment steady at 4.1% and the financial press has written 'resilient' in the headline again, the way a coroner might write 'stable' about a patient who's stopped breathing. The participation rate dropped because people left the labour force, mate. You can't be unemployed if you've given up — that's not resilience, that's accounting.

Also covered by

The Age