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Finding and keeping a job is a frequent topic of discussion across all industries and communities. The majority of Australians have a positive professional narrative, with unemployment rates across the country relatively low, particularly when compared to international standards. The unemployment rate in Australia was last reported at 6.0 percent in February 2018. Historically, from 1978 until 2013, Australia's unemployment rate has averaged 7.0 percent. In February 1993 it reached an all-time high of 12.1 percent, and sixteen years later, a record low of just 3.9 percent in July 2007.
This FACT indicates the unemployment rate of each Australian state/territory, which is defined as the number of people actively looking for a job, as a percentage of the labour force in February 2018. In Australia, there is no minimum requirement of hours to be considered unemployed. In other words, a person who works one hour per week is considered employed. The state/territory with the lowest unemployment rate is the Northern Territory, at 4.2 percent. The state/territory with the highest rate of unemployment is Queensland at 7.0 percent. South Australia and Western Australia a close second at 6.7 percent.