SOUTH Australia’s unemployment rate has plunged by a full percentage point, with local unemployment statistics, to be released tomorrow, also expected to show improvement.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its Australian Labour Force statistics for September on Thursday, which revealed the state’s unemployment rate had dropped from 7.3 per cent to 6.3 per cent.

South Australia’s trend unemployment rate remained steady during the same period, rising from 6.4 per cent to 6.5 per cent.

August’s labour statistics showed seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in Adelaide’s north, including Gawler, jumped to 7.9 per cent, while the state’s unemployment rate reached 7.3 per cent – then the highest in the country.

Innovation and skills minister David Pisoni said the significant drop in the unemployment rate showed the figure had an “inherent volatility”.

“Employment growth in SA continues to be strong, with record numbers of total employed and solid growth in full-time employment since the election of the Marshall Liberal Government,” he said.

“This was highlighted earlier in the week with the release of the Deloitte Access Business Outlook, which detailed near-record jobs growth as well as a massive surge in the number of people willing to work.

“The Marshall Liberal Government is continuing to implement our growth agenda with a strong focus on job creation and transitioning the South Australian economy to new growth industries and creating jobs for the future.”

Queensland has now overtaken South Australia as the state with the highest unemployment rate at 6.5 per cent.

The sudden drop in the state’s unemployment rate resulted in a record 855,400 people holding a job in SA during September.

The ABS will tomorrow release detailed unemployment data which will reveal whether the northern Adelaide region – including Gawler, Elizabeth, Two Wells and Mallala – followed the rest of the state and saw more people get in to work.