Overall Australian unemployment and under-employment at 3.4 million in March; ‘Real Unemployment’ at 1.69 million
In March 2026, Australian ‘real’ unemployment dropped 28,000 to 1,693,000 (10.5% of the workforce, down 0.1%), and under-employment dropped 205,000 to 1,687,000 (down 1.2% to 10.4%).
Roy Morgan estimates the overall workforce size (which adds together the employed and unemployed) at just under 16.2 million in March – 16,185,000 to be exact, down 78,000 on a month ago, and representing 69.4% of Australians aged 14+.
The decrease in the workforce was driven entirely by a drop in employment, down 50,000 to 14,492,000. This drop was due to a sharp fall in part-time employment, down 120,000 to 5,122,000, but there was good news with a rise in full-time employment, up 70,000 to a new record high of 9,370,000. Overall employment represents 62.1% of Australians aged 14+.
Detailed Roy Morgan Employment Estimates in March 2026:
- Australian workforce decreased by 78,000 in March to just under 16.2 million:
In March the Australian workforce decreased 78,000 to 16,185,000 driven by a drop in employment, which decreased 50,000 to 14,492,000 and unemployment was down 28,000 to 1,693,000.
- Part-time employment dropped in February, but full-time employment increased to a record high:
The employment picture was mixed in March with part-time employment dropping 120,000 to 5,122,000 and now equivalent to 35.3% of employed Australians. However, in better news full-time employment increased by 70,000 to a record high 9,370,000, and equivalent to 64.7% of employed Australians. This led to overall employment dropping 50,000 to 14,492,000.
- Unemployment down by 0.1% to 10.5% in March driven by the increase in full-time jobs:
1,693,000 Australians were unemployed (10.5% of the workforce, down 0.1%), down 28,000 from February. There was a drop in people looking for full-time work, down 23,000 to 686,000, and a small decline in people looking for part-time work, down 5,000 to 1,007,000.
- Under-employment dropped from a record high, down 1.2% to 10.4% in March:
In addition to the unemployed, a further 1.69 million Australians (10.4% of the workforce, down 1.2%) were under-employed, i.e. working part-time but looking for more work, down 205,000 from February. In total 3.38 million Australians (20.9% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in March.
- Comparisons with a year ago show that the population, workforce and employment have grown rapidly over the last year, but both unemployment and under-employment are both up significantly:
The Australian population aged 14+ in March 2026 was estimated at 23,329,000 (up 352,000 from March 2025 – above the long-term average annual growth of 303,000). The workforce in March 2026 was 16,185,000 (up 395,000 from a year ago) – comprising 14,492,000 employed Australians (up 306,000) and 1,693,000 unemployed Australians (up 89,000). Unfortunately, under-employment has also surged and is up 258,000 from a year ago to 1,687,000.
The March Roy Morgan Unemployment estimates were obtained by surveying an Australia-wide cross section of people aged 14+. A person is classified as unemployed if they are looking for work, no matter when. The ‘real’ unemployment rate is presented as a percentage of the workforce (employed & unemployed).
Roy Morgan Unemployment & Under-employment (2019-2026)
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source January 2019 – March 2026. Average monthly interviews 5,000.
Note: Roy Morgan unemployment estimates are actual data while the ABS estimates are seasonally adjusted.
Michele Levine, CEO Roy Morgan, says the latest Roy Morgan employment estimates for March show combined unemployment and under-employment continuing at a high level above 3 million for a 16th straight month:
“The latest Roy Morgan employment estimates for March show overall Australian unemployment and under-employment down 233,000 to 3,380,000 (20.9% of the workforce, down 1.3%).
“Despite the fall in overall unemployment and under-employment in March, labour under-utilisation is above 3 million Australians for a 16th straight month. Seasonal movements show that labour under-utilisation has fallen in every March since the pandemic by an average of around 200,000.
“The decrease in labour under-utilisation in March was driven by a sharp fall in under-employment, down 205,000 to 1,687,000 (10.4% of the workforce, down 1.2%). There was also a small fall in unemployment, down 28,000 to 1,693,000 (10.5% of the workforce, down 0.1%).
“Despite the continuing high level of labour under-utilisation, there was some good news in March with full-time employment increasing 70,000 to 9,370,000. However, part-time employment was down by 120,000 to 5,122,000 – driving overall employment down 50,000 to 14,492,000.
“The Roy Morgan estimates for March show that although the Middle Eastern conflict has led to sharply rising fuel and energy prices in Australia and worldwide, they are yet to flow through by impacting Australian employment markets.
“Looking forward the economic impacts from the Middle Eastern conflict will grow with fuel and energy prices set to remain elevated for a significant period. The Albanese Government has made steps to secure Australia’s energy supply and cut the fuel excise in half in mid-March to lower petrol and diesel prices for consumers.
“However, the Government will be required to make additional tough decisions in the weeks and month ahead as global oil supply remains constrained by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Government’s next opportunity to make significant policy changes to strengthen Australia’s economy and provide cost of living relief for Australians is at the Federal Budget due on May 12.”
This Roy Morgan survey on Australia’s unemployment and ‘under-employed’* is based on weekly interviews of 959,341 Australians aged 14 and over from January 2010 to March 2026 and includes 7,124 telephone and online interviews in March 2026. *The ‘under-employed’ are those people who are in part-time work or freelancers who are looking for more work.
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About Roy Morgan
Roy Morgan is Australia’s largest independent Australian research company, with offices in each state, as well as in the U.S. and U.K. A full-service research organisation, Roy Morgan has over 80 years’ experience collecting objective, independent information on consumers.
Margin of Error
The margin of error to be allowed for in any estimate depends mainly on the number of interviews on which it is based. Margin of error gives indications of the likely range within which estimates would be 95% likely to fall, expressed as the number of percentage points above or below the actual estimate. Allowance for design effects (such as stratification and weighting) should be made as appropriate.
| Sample Size | Percentage Estimate |
| 40% – 60% | 25% or 75% | 10% or 90% | 5% or 95% | |
| 1,000 | ±3.0 | ±2.7 | ±1.9 | ±1.3 |
| 5,000 | ±1.4 | ±1.2 | ±0.8 | ±0.6 |
| 7,500 | ±1.1 | ±1.0 | ±0.7 | ±0.5 |
| 10,000 | ±1.0 | ±0.9 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 |
| 20,000 | ±0.7 | ±0.6 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 |
| 50,000 | ±0.4 | ±0.4 | ±0.3 | ±0.2 |
