Australia's August unemployment rate didn't seem to make sense. Here's what's going on

The August labour force figures surprised everyone – unemployment was expected to rise, given the Melbourne lockdown, and yet it fell. And while this is good news, a dig into the figures reveals that it needs to be tempered with the realisation that we remain deeply within a recession.

The unemployment rate falling in August from 7.5% to 6.8% (the second biggest monthly fall on record) brought to mind the old line that if you understand what is going on, you clearly have not been paying attention.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/22/recent-australian-unemployment-rates-didnt-seem-to-make-sense-heres-what-is-going-on