Western Australia currently has the highest unemployment rate in the country, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Country-wide trend employment decreased in October for the first time since November 2013, with unemployment rate steady at 5.6 per cent – and WA might be to blame.
As of September, the state's participation rate – the proportion of people over 15 years old in work or looking for it – was the highest in the country, and unemployment rates were the third highest.
But in October, while unemployment rates in all other states and territories either decreased or remained steady, WA's rose from 6.1 to 6.5 per cent.
Australia-wide, 10,000 jobs were added in October, and the ABS attributes the decrease in trend employment to higher part-time employment.
The 8,400 people working part-time as of last month were more than offset by the 9,500 people who stopped working full-time.
ABS labour and income branch manager Jacqui Jones said there had been a continued decline in trend full-time employment and an increase in part-time employment since December 2015, and an increase in work hours for part-timers.
"Over the past year, part-time employment has increased from around 31 per cent of employment to 32 per cent," Ms Jones said.
"That's a relatively large shift, if you consider that it was around 29 per cent 10 years ago.
"Since December 2015, there are now around 132,700 more persons working part-time, compared with a 69,900 decrease in those working full-time."
