Unemployment in Australia rose to its highest level in five years in March as the full force of the global financial crisis hit home, prompting employers to rapidly accelerate job shedding. Unemployment rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.7% in March from 5.2% in February, its highest level since February 2004. The number of employed fell 34,700, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. It was the biggest one-month rise in unemployment in eight years. Economists on average had expected an unemployment rate of 5.4% in March, with the number of employed down 25,000. The number of people in full-time work fell 38,900, extending an alarming decline over recent months in favour of part-time work.
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said forecasts for unemployment are expected to rise. "As the Treasurer has said, the worsening global recession means that unemployment here will inevitably be higher than previously forecast," Gillard said in a statement. The government forecast in February that unemployment would rise to 7.0% by mid-2010. The report is strong evidence that employers, frustrated by the length of the economic downturn, are letting staff go despite a lengthy battle to retain skilled workers. The pace of the rise in unemployment has increased because more people are now looking for work. But the rate of deterioration more than matches previous recessions, economists said.