Australian unemployment rate 1949-2020 (annual average)%

The "full employment" era lasted from 1945 to 1975

Australia's economy struggled with stagflation in the 1970s, so it transitioned to a new policy framework. Since then, policymakers have said the NAIRU is "full employment."

Chart: Gareth Hutchens Source: Reserve Bank of Australia: Australian Economic Statistics 1949-1950 to 1996-1997 Occasional Paper No. 8, 4.3: Labour force by employment status (note: the RBA unemployment rate data shows the average for financial years from 1949-50 to 1963-64, and switches to calendar years thereafter). From 1998, I've used Bureau of Statistics data, 6202.0 Labour Force, Australia, Table 1. Labour force status by Sex, Australia Get the data