Unemployment rate,Percent in Australia
Australia: Unemployment rate,Percent was 4.3% in 2026. ▼ Falling
Latest (2026)
4.3%
Change on year
up 3.2%
World rank
47th
of 71 countries
All-time high
10.9%
in 1993
All-time low
3.7%
in 2023
Years of data
37
1990–2026
Unemployment rate,Percent in Australia, 1990–2026
Source: World Bank.
Analysis
In 2026, unemployment rate,percent in Australia stood at 4.3%.
That represents a change of up 3.2% on the previous year and down 24.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, unemployment rate,percent in Australia peaked at 10.9% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 2023.
That places Australia 47th out of 71 countries with data for 2026, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 37 years of available data.
Unemployment rate,Percent in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 6.9% | — |
| 1991 | 9.6% | +38.5% |
| 1992 | 10.8% | +11.8% |
| 1993 | 10.9% | +1.1% |
| 1994 | 9.7% | -10.7% |
| 1995 | 8.5% | -12.7% |
| 1996 | 8.5% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 8.4% | -1.8% |
| 1998 | 7.7% | -8.5% |
| 1999 | 6.9% | -10.2% |
| 2000 | 6.3% | -8.7% |
| 2001 | 6.8% | +7.8% |
| 2002 | 6.4% | -6.0% |
| 2003 | 5.9% | -6.7% |
| 2004 | 5.4% | -9.0% |
| 2005 | 5.0% | -6.7% |
| 2006 | 4.8% | -5.2% |
| 2007 | 4.4% | -8.5% |
| 2008 | 4.2% | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 5.6% | +31.1% |
| 2010 | 5.2% | -6.9% |
| 2011 | 5.1% | -1.9% |
| 2012 | 5.2% | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 5.7% | +8.6% |
| 2014 | 6.1% | +7.3% |
| 2015 | 6.1% | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 5.7% | -5.6% |
| 2017 | 5.6% | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 5.3% | -5.1% |
| 2019 | 5.2% | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 6.5% | +25.0% |
| 2021 | 5.1% | -20.7% |
| 2022 | 3.7% | -27.5% |
| 2023 | 3.7% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 4.0% | +8.5% |
| 2025 | 4.2% | +5.1% |
| 2026 | 4.3% | +3.2% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 4.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.0%, 87% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Australia's 4.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.3%, 1.3× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.8% | 6.9% | 10.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.5% | 4.2% | 6.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.5% | 5.1% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.5% | 3.7% | 6.5% | 7 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is unemployment rate,percent in Australia?
- Unemployment rate,percent in Australia was 4.3% in 2026, according to the World Bank.
- What is the highest unemployment rate,percent recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 10.9% in 1993.
- What is the lowest unemployment rate,percent recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 2023.
- How does Australia rank for unemployment rate,percent?
- Australia ranks 47th out of 71 countries with data for 2026.
- Is unemployment rate,percent rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Unemployment rate,Percent,,,. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 37 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).