Australia labour force participation rate

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67.1%up 0.2 points from Jul 2026August 2026 · released 24 Sep 2026

+2.1 ptsover 5 years

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Most followed

United States United Kingdom Japan Canada

By region

Asia-Pacific5

Japan Malaysia Singapore New Zealand Philippines

Europe22

Middle East1

Saudi Arabia

North America3

Canada United States Mexico

South America2

Chile Colombia

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Key data points

Last release: 24 Sep 2026
Observation period: August 2026
Next release: 15 Oct 2026, 00:30 UTC
Previous: 66.9% Jul 2026
Highest: 67.2% Jan 2025
Lowest: 60.1% Apr 1983
A year ago: 66.8%
Data since: 1978

Australia labour force participation rate by year

Australia labour force participation rate by year
Year	Average	High	Low	Change
2026 (to date)	66.8%	67.1%August 2026	66.7%April 2026	▲ +0.4
2025	66.9%	67.2%January 2025	66.6%November 2025	▼ −0.5
2024	66.9%	67.1%July 2024	66.5%March 2024	▲ +0.5
2023	66.7%	67.0%November 2023	66.4%February 2023	▲ +0.2
2022	66.3%	66.6%November 2022	66.0%January 2022	▲ +0.5
2021	65.5%	65.9%March 2021	64.4%September 2021	▲ +0.1
2020	64.7%	65.8%January 2020	62.2%May 2020	0.0
2019	65.7%	66.0%August 2019	65.5%February 2019	▲ +0.1
2018	65.4%	65.6%January 2018	65.2%May 2018	▼ −0.1
2017	65.0%	65.6%December 2017	64.5%February 2017	▲ +1.0
2016	64.8%	65.3%January 2016	64.4%October 2016	▼ −0.6
2015	65.0%	65.2%November 2015	64.8%January 2015	▲ +0.3
2014	64.6%	64.8%July 2014	64.5%November 2014	0.0
2013	65.0%	65.3%January 2013	64.5%December 2013	▼ −0.8
2012	65.2%	65.3%May 2012	64.9%November 2012	▼ −0.3
2011	65.4%	65.8%January 2011	65.1%December 2011	▼ −0.7
2010	65.4%	65.8%November 2010	65.0%May 2010	▲ +0.2
2009	65.4%	65.7%February 2009	65.2%October 2009	▼ −0.1
2008	65.5%	65.7%April 2008	65.4%February 2008	0.0
2007	65.2%	65.5%November 2007	64.9%January 2007	▲ +0.6

Show all

Australia labour force participation rate by year
Year	Average	High	Low	Change
2006	64.7%	65.1%December 2006	64.4%January 2006	▲ +0.7
2005	64.4%	64.6%August 2005	64.0%January 2005	▲ +0.5
2004	63.4%	63.8%November 2004	63.3%January 2004	▲ +0.4
2003	63.6%	64.0%February 2003	63.3%November 2003	▼ −0.5
2002	63.3%	63.8%December 2002	63.0%April 2002	▲ +0.4
2001	63.3%	63.6%October 2001	62.9%January 2001	▲ +0.4
2000	63.1%	63.5%July 2000	62.7%January 2000	▲ +0.3
1999	62.7%	63.1%December 1999	62.5%May 1999	▲ +0.4
1998	63.0%	63.2%September 1998	62.8%December 1998	▼ −0.1
1997	63.1%	63.4%February 1997	62.9%August 1997	▼ −0.4
1996	63.5%	63.8%January 1996	63.2%November 1996	▼ −0.4
1995	63.5%	64.0%November 1995	63.1%January 1995	▲ +0.6
1994	62.9%	63.2%July 1994	62.6%April 1994	▲ +0.4
1993	62.5%	62.9%November 1993	62.1%May 1993	▲ +0.1
1992	62.8%	63.3%July 1992	62.4%November 1992	▼ −0.3
1991	63.1%	63.7%April 1991	62.7%November 1991	▼ −0.3
1990	63.7%	64.1%July 1990	63.5%January 1990	▲ +0.2
1989	63.1%	63.5%November 1989	62.7%January 1989	▲ +0.6
1988	62.3%	62.8%April 1988	61.8%July 1988	▲ +0.2
1987	61.9%	62.3%July 1987	61.5%September 1987	▲ +0.3
1986	61.8%	62.1%October 1986	61.4%January 1986	▲ +0.5
1985	60.8%	61.6%November 1985	60.3%January 1985	▲ +0.7
1984	60.5%	60.7%June 1984	60.3%February 1984	0.0
1983	60.4%	60.6%September 1983	60.1%April 1983	▼ −0.1
1982	60.8%	61.1%October 1982	60.5%August 1982	▼ −0.5
1981	61.1%	61.3%September 1981	60.8%November 1981	▼ −0.4
1980	61.3%	61.5%August 1980	61.0%March 1980	▲ +0.4
1979	60.7%	61.0%October 1979	60.4%May 1979	▲ +0.2
1978	60.9%	61.2%February 1978	60.6%November 1978	▼ −0.4

Download history

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12 observations · January 2025 to December 2025

Selected historical observations
Date or period	Value · Percent	Source
January 2025	67.2%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
February 2025	66.7%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
March 2025	66.7%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
April 2025	67.1%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
May 2025	67.0%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
June 2025	67.0%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
July 2025	67.0%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
August 2025	66.8%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
September 2025	66.9%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
October 2025	66.9%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
November 2025	66.6%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
December 2025	66.7%	Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

Indicator info

Category: Labour
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)
Frequency: Monthly
Units: Percent

The share of the working-age population that is working or looking for work.

Unemployment rateAug 20264.6%Inflation rateAug 20264.0%Consumer price indexAug 2026103.5 GDP growth rateQ2 20262.1%

Reports

Released 24 Sep 202667.1%August 2026

In 2 days

Next release, 00:30 UTC15 Oct 2026September 2026

History

Labour force participation rate recent observations
Period	Value	Change
August 2026	67.1%	+0.2
July 2026	66.9%	−0.1
June 2026	67.0%	+0.3
May 2026	66.7%	0.0
April 2026	66.7%	−0.1
March 2026	66.8%	0.0
February 2026	66.8%	+0.1
January 2026	66.7%	0.0
December 2025	66.7%	+0.1
November 2025	66.6%	−0.3
October 2025	66.9%	0.0
September 2025	66.9%	+0.1
August 2025	66.8%

Common questions

What is the labour force participation rate in Australia now?

The labour force participation rate in Australia was 67.1% in August 2026, up 0.2 points from Jul 2026. The figure was released on 24 Sep 2026.

When is the next labour force participation rate release for Australia?

The next release is scheduled for 15 Oct 2026, 00:30 UTC, covering September 2026.

What are the highest and lowest values of the labour force participation rate in Australia?

In data since 1978, the highest was 67.2% in Jan 2025 and the lowest was 60.1% in Apr 1983.

Where does this data come from?

Published by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), and shown here exactly as published. Publishers revise figures, and the latest published figure replaces the earlier one.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS); Economics methodology →
API: GET /v1/economics/AUS/labour-force-participation; Economics API →