The Australian job market continues to withstand the pressure of economic weakness, with the unemployment rate significantly dropping to 3.9% in November against the backdrop of another solid month of job growth, which may put an end to increasing discussions about interest rate cuts in February.

Economists had previously expected the unemployment rate to rise to 4.2%, aligning with recent data showing that the economy struggled in the third quarter.

In the third quarter of this year, the economy grew only 0.8% year-on-year, marking the last time such a growth rate occurred was during the recession in the early 1990s.

Nevertheless, the Australian Bureau of Statistics stated on Thursday that 35,600 jobs were added in November.

Just days before confirming that the employment market remains solid, the Reserve Bank of Australia made a more moderate assessment of the economy, stating that it is increasingly confident that inflation will return to target levels as expected. This statement triggered a wave of excitement in the MMF market, with markets quickly ramping up bets that the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates in February.

David Taylor, head of labor statistics at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, stated: "In November, we saw more people unemployed and waiting to start work from October enter employment than usual."

The Australian Bureau of Statistics added that employment grew by 0.2% in November, with an average monthly growth of 0.3% since mid-2024, consistent with recent population growth.

In November, the employment participation rate decreased by 0.1% from the historical high of 67.1% in September to 67.0%.

Data shows that the seasonally adjusted monthly hours worked slightly decreased in November, falling below the monthly average increase of about 0.3% during the period from June to October.