Jobs down, hours down, but jobs are really up

Employment figures for December showed unemployment up a fraction – from 5.3% to 5.4% – and the number of employed people decreased by 5,500. However, jobs rose in November last year; over two months, jobs were up overall by 11,600.

The report by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a decrease in work hours of 1.1 million, which analysts suggest is the result of  employers cutting the hours of full-time workers to improve productivity, according to The Australian Financial Review.