AUD crosses
A stronger labour package can support rate expectations and the Australian dollar, while a weaker report may have the opposite effect. Broader risk sentiment can dominate either response.
Australia · Labour market
Australia Employment and Unemployment
Latest release and market reaction
A permanent release record for Australia's employment change and unemployment rate, paired with the first five minutes of price action across Australian-dollar markets.
AU
Release summary
The Australian labour report was firmer than consensus.
Employment changed by 76.3K versus 15.0K expected, while unemployment was 4.4% versus 4.4% expected. This is historical context, not a trading signal.
Latest figures
Actual vs forecast
Employment is shown in thousands of people. The unemployment surprise is shown in percentage points.
| Measure | Actual | Forecast | Previous | Surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment change | 76.3K | 15.0K | 40.3K | +61.3 K |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% | 4.4% | 4.4% | 0.0 pp |
Recorded market reaction
Australian markets, tick by tick
AUDUSDAustralian dollar / US dollar
Last bid before release0.69958
5 sec after release+0.164%bid 0.70073
30 sec after release+0.162%bid 0.70071
1 min after release+0.111%bid 0.70036
5 min after release+0.210%bid 0.70105
The chart plots 434 stored bid ticks for AUDUSD. Moves use the last bid before 01:30 UTC as baseline and do not represent an executable fill.
Instrument coverage
AUD crosses and domestic risk
AUDUSD and AUDJPY show the direct currency response. EURAUD, AUS200 and XAUAUD add cross-rate, equity and real-asset context.
- AUDUSD Australian dollar / US dollar
- The primary Australian-dollar pair, sensitive to changes in relative Australian and US rate expectations.
- AUDJPY Australian dollar / Japanese yen
- A cross that combines Australian rate expectations with broader risk appetite and Japanese-yen dynamics.
- EURAUD Euro / Australian dollar
- A cross-rate view of Australian-dollar repricing relative to the euro.
- AUS200 Australia 200
- A reference price for the Australian equity market, balancing growth and interest-rate implications.
- XAUAUD Gold / Australian dollar
- Gold priced in Australian dollars, providing a real-asset and currency cross-check.
Release record
Latest three labour releases
Each record preserves the published actual, consensus and previous values together with the observed five-minute market reaction.
23 July 2026June 2026Firmer than consensusOpen recordClose record
0 of 2 tracked readings were below consensus, 1 were above and 1 matched. The two headline measures and the complete recorded market reaction remain visible below.
Published figures
| Measure | Actual | Forecast | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment change | 76.3K | 15.0K | 40.3K |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% | 4.4% | 4.4% |
Recorded reaction
| Market | 5 sec | 30 sec | 1 min | 5 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUDUSD | +0.164% | +0.162% | +0.111% | +0.210% |
| AUDJPY | +0.154% | +0.147% | +0.099% | +0.184% |
| EURAUD | -0.162% | -0.162% | -0.113% | -0.189% |
| AUS200 | -0.116% | -0.112% | -0.239% | -0.135% |
| XAUAUD | -0.121% | -0.241% | -0.293% | -0.299% |
25 June 2026May 2026Firmer than consensusOpen recordClose record
0 of 2 tracked readings were below consensus, 1 were above and 1 matched. The two headline measures and the complete recorded market reaction remain visible below.
Published figures
| Measure | Actual | Forecast | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment change | 40.3K | 30.0K | -18.6K |
| Unemployment rate | 4.4% | 4.4% | 4.5% |
Recorded reaction
| Market | 5 sec | 30 sec | 1 min | 5 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUDUSD | +0.052% | +0.144% | +0.130% | -0.046% |
| AUDJPY | +0.040% | +0.132% | +0.124% | -0.041% |
| EURAUD | -0.035% | -0.109% | -0.107% | +0.031% |
| AUS200 | -0.033% | -0.078% | -0.049% | +0.075% |
| XAUAUD | -0.028% | -0.104% | -0.092% | -0.117% |
21 May 2026April 2026Softer than consensusOpen recordClose record
1 of 2 tracked readings were below consensus, 1 were above and 0 matched. The two headline measures and the complete recorded market reaction remain visible below.
Published figures
| Measure | Actual | Forecast | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employment change | -18.6K | 15.0K | 17.9K |
| Unemployment rate | 4.5% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
Recorded reaction
| Market | 5 sec | 30 sec | 1 min | 5 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUDUSD | -0.263% | -0.284% | -0.289% | -0.239% |
| AUDJPY | -0.241% | -0.265% | -0.270% | -0.241% |
| EURAUD | +0.221% | +0.268% | +0.279% | +0.244% |
| AUS200 | +0.173% | +0.296% | +0.253% | +0.359% |
| XAUAUD | +0.182% | +0.264% | +0.310% | +0.149% |
The public archive is intentionally limited to the latest three release events.
Market context
Why Australian labour data moves markets
The report can change expectations for household demand, wage pressure and the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy path. Markets usually evaluate employment growth and unemployment together rather than treating either figure in isolation.
Labour surprise→Wage and demand outlook→RBA expectations→AUD repricing
AUS200
Domestic equities can balance the growth signal against the possibility of tighter monetary policy and changing financing costs.
Employment quality
The headline change does not distinguish every underlying detail. Full-time and part-time work, participation and hours worked can alter the interpretation.
Two-number test
Employment above forecast is normally firmer, while unemployment below forecast is normally firmer. Conflicting readings make the package less directional.
A labour-market surprise is only one input into price formation. Participation, revisions, the composition of employment, broader risk sentiment and simultaneous news can change or reverse the initial response.
Indicator guide
What the labour-force report measures
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates labour-market conditions from its monthly Labour Force Survey.
- Employment change
- The month-to-month change in the estimated number of employed people, displayed here in thousands.
- Unemployment rate
- The unemployed population as a share of the labour force. A lower-than-expected rate is generally interpreted as firmer.
- Participation and hours
- Supporting series that help explain whether the headline change reflects labour-force entry, intensity of work or genuine job creation.
Official source
Australian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey measures employment, unemployment, participation and hours worked. This page tracks employment change and the unemployment rate.
Open the official Labour Force, Australia release ↗Methodology
How this page is assembled
Release tables preserve the actual, consensus and previous values stored with each calendar record. The latest chart plots every stored bid tick from 30 seconds before publication through the selected horizon.
Reaction percentages use the last bid before release as baseline and the nearest stored bid at 5 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute and 5 minutes. Timestamps are UTC; moves do not establish an executable fill, spread, slippage or profitability.
News trading context
From an Australian labour release to a measured news-trading workflow.
ToxicTraders connects scheduled macro releases, actual-versus-forecast evaluation, configured strategy logic, execution connections and post-trade review. This research page records historical reactions; the platform is where traders configure their own workflow.
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