effects on employment that had been a hallmark of previous recessions. it is also possible that the particular nature of the pandemic recession – driven by health restrictions and social distancing – allowed for a faster recovery than previous recessions. r e s e r v e b a n k o f au s t r a l i a a remarkable recovery the pace and extent of the recovery has been remarkable – much faster than any previous downturn ( graph 2 ). [ 5 ] labour market outcomes over the past three years have consistently exceeded the expectations of the bank and other forecasters ; the labour market has proved very resilient. graph 2 labour market underutilisation * monthly change since the beginning of labour market downturn ppt ppt previous downturns covid - 19 pandemic - 3 - 6 - 3 * months - 6 the underutilisation rate is the sum of the unemployment and underemployment rates ; labour market downturn is defined as the trough in the underutilisation rate. sources : abs ; rba. the share of the australian population in employment has never been higher. the number of australians in a job has increased by over 1. 1 million since late 2021 and the level of employment is now almost 8 per cent above its pre - pandemic level. almost all the gains in employment since the onset of the pandemic have been in full - time employment ( graph 3 ). strong demand for labour has enabled many previously part - time employees to move into full - time work. this has allowed people to move closer to their preferred working hours, pushing the underemployment rate ( which captures both those looking for more work and those looking to increase their current hours ) to levels not seen since 2008. graph 3 employment cumulative change since february 2020 ’ 000 ’ 000 full - time part - time - 250 - 250 - 500 - 500 - 750 m j s d m j s d m j s d m j - 750 source : abs. the rate at which people participate in the labour force is also at a record high. the rise in participation since the onset of the pandemic is mostly attributable to women entering ( or re - entering ) the labour force in large numbers. this has been underpinned by strong labour market conditions, more flexibility in working arrangements and a continuation of long - run trends. the unemployment rate has fallen sharply and is currently a little over 3½ per

finally, at previous hearings members of the committee asked about the number of women at senior levels of the reserve bank. i am pleased to be able to report that we have made further progress here. of the three assistant governors responsible for monetary and financial policies at the reserve bank, two are women. and women run over a third of the departments in the bank, including those responsible for the bank ’ s economic analysis function and for the implementation of monetary policy. so it ’ s quite a big change from days gone by when almost all of these important positions were held by men. i want to highlight these changes in the hope that they might provide some inspiration to women who are thinking of studying economics, finance and business. there are fantastic career opportunities out there and it would be great to see more women studying these disciplines, and perhaps considering a career at australia ’ s central bank. we are currently working on some initiatives to encourage this, at both the school and university level. thank you. my colleagues and i are here to answer your questions. 4 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches