WA’s jobless rate falls dramatically in November amid ‘blockbuster’ national data that trims hope of rate cut

WA’s unemployment rate has fallen an extraordinary 0.8 percentage points in November to be just 3.3 per cent.

That was the State’s sixth biggest monthly drop in the past 20 years and it took WA’s jobless rate to the lowest level since August 2022.

About 15,000 West Aussies found work in the month, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Both WA and New South Wales played big roles in helping the country post a “blockbuster” jobs performance that surpassed expectations in November.

But the numbers also highlight volatility in the data — because WA posted a big lift in unemployment only one month prior.

Treasurer Rita Saffioti said “the strength of our job market has been incredible”.

“It’s great to see another 15,300 people find work in November, with a record of more than 1.63 million Western Australians now employed,” Ms Saffioti said.

“Despite the national economy experiencing headwinds from higher interest rates, the WA economy continues to outperform, with unemployment at 3.3 percent, the lowest of the States.”

She said the unemployment rate had been at or below 4 per cent for 37 of the past 38 months.

“WA has the strongest economy in the nation, and keeping it that way will continue to be our top priority, so all Western Australians can have quality, local jobs.”

The national jobless rate is now 3.9 per cent, down from 4.1 per cent.

“That was unexpected,” Moody’s Analytics head of Australian economics Harry Murphy Cruise said.

“The bulletproof labour market remains a thorn in the side of the Reserve Bank of Australia.

“With unemployment refusing to heel to the RBA’s hikes, there is a risk the economy stays hotter than needed to bring down underlying inflation.”

Commonwealth Bank’s Gareth Aird said the national numbers were “solid”.

“Taken at face value the data indicates that the labour market is not loosening despite well below‑trend GDP growth and forward indicators of labour demand all consistent with a softening labour market,” he said.