Slight rise in national unemployment

Unemployment finished November slightly higher than it started, with 6.3 per cent of people in Australia finding themselves without jobs.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed the rise registered at less than 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. This was mainly the result of a fall in the number of women in full-time jobs.

However, there was an increase in the number of females taking up part-time roles, while full-time employment escalated among men.

The results also showed a decline in the amount of monthly hours worked, which fell 0.3 per cent month-on-month. Companies may have seen this reflected in their payroll software over recent weeks.

Further statistics from the ABS explored what impact qualifications have on mothers' ability to secure jobs. The group discovered that women with higher levels of education are much more likely to be in employment than those without formal training.

"More than three-quarters of mothers with degrees were working, compared to less than half the mothers whose highest school level was Year 11 or below," noted Myles Burleigh from the ABS.

Not only this, men were twice as likely as their female counterparts to have reported their highest level of educational achievement to be a Certificate III or IV. Women were, on the other hand, more likely to have a degree – 25 per cent as opposed to 20 per cent.

Mr Burleigh revealed that almost three million Australians aged 15 or over are currently studying, with 1.2 million of them attending university. Just over half of those who left school in 2013 have now enrolled in further study, the majority of whom have decided to go to university.

Among those who didn't decide to study further, more than half have secured jobs, with many of them taking up part-time positions.