Australia’s employment climbed by 48,900 in February 2026, reaching a new record high of 14.75 million. This marked an acceleration from January’s upwardly revised increase of 26,000 and exceeded market expectations of a 20,300 gain. It was also the third consecutive month of job growth.
The overall rise was driven entirely by part-time positions, which surged by 79,400 to 4.63 million, while full-time employment fell by 30,500 to 10.12 million. The employment-to-population ratio held steady at 64.0%, and the participation rate edged up to 66.9% from 66.7% in the previous month. On a year-on-year basis, total employment was up by 264,700, an increase of 1.8%.
