Australia’s jobless rate has lifted to 4.1 per cent in January, with the increase in part fuelled by people waiting to start new jobs. 

The number of employed lifted by roughly 500 and the number of unemployed increased by by 22,000 people, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, so the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 4.1 per cent.

“This was the first time in two years, since January 2022, that the unemployment rate had been above four per cent,” ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.

Consensus forecasts landed on a four per cent uptick in the unemployment rate and a 25,000 lift in employment.

The bureau noted that the increase in the jobless rate in January could in part be explained by a higher-than-usual number of people who were not employed but  said would be starting a new job or returning to one soon.

“While there were more unemployed people in January, there were also more unemployed people who were expecting to start a job in the next four weeks,” Mr Jarvis said.

The participation rate remained steady at 66.8 per cent.

The health of the labour market is monitored closely by the Reserve Bank, with unemployment expected to move higher gradually as the economy slows.

Its latest forecasts have the jobless rate reaching 4.3 per cent in the middle of the year and 4.4 per cent by December. 

This post was originally published on Michael West.