Unemployment Rate — methodology

What this metric measures

The percentage of people who are actively looking for work but cannot find it.

Why it matters: High unemployment means people are unable to support themselves and their families. It reduces consumer spending and government revenue.

Source & provenance

Publisher

ABS

Update frequency

monthly

Licence

CC BY 4.0

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How the score is computed

The score is a 0–100 normalisation of the latest observation, compared to a baseline window. The traffic-light rating (RAG) reflects both the absolute level and the recent trend.

Direction

Lower is better

Trend window

60 months

Baseline

Last 10 years

{
  "red_min_pct_of_baseline": 110,
  "amber_max_pct_of_baseline": 110,
  "green_max_pct_of_baseline": 95
}