The growth in employment numbers in Australia beat expectations during the month of October as restrictions were eased across Victoria. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals that 178k jobs were added in October, far better than economists’ forecast for a drop by 30k instead.

Despite the increase in employment opportunities, the unemployment rate rose to 7% during the period. On a positive note, however, the unemployment rate came in less than economists’ expectations, which was for an increase to 7.2% instead.

Economists have forecast that Australia’s unemployment rate could touch a high of 8% on account of the pandemic-driven recession. The second wave of the pandemic that has caused the government to impose a six-day lockdown across the southern part of the country is also weighing on the sentiment and is likely to drive employment lower in the near future.

Since Australia announced the first round of lockdowns back in March, the number of jobs available declined by 872k until May. Since June, jobs have been on the rebound, growing by 648k since June, buoyed by the various stimulus measures rolled out by the government and the RBA.