The Australian Bureau of Statistics released preliminary u-series underutilisation data for June 2026, showing the underemployment rate (UD-1) at 4.2%, reduced employment rate (RE-1) at 2.4%, unemployment rate (UN-1) at 4.4%, and total labour force underutilisation rate (UU-1) at 10.2%. These rates reflect seasonal adjustments and include 898,000 underutilised employed people and 690,000 unemployed individuals. The u-series framework, which provides a more coherent approach to measuring underutilisation, is being gradually implemented, with full rollout planned for late 2026 or early 2027. Data showed reduced employment peaked in March 2025 at 5.6% due to Cyclone Alfred impacts before stabilising. The u-series replaces previous methods, with official underemployment estimates remaining unchanged until full implementation.
© Commonwealth of Australia (Australian Bureau of Statistics).
The text is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This article is a summary of content originally published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Made by AI. If you spot anything of concern write us at contact@cybach.com. We’ll promptly correct irregularities.