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1932, at the Depression's worstReputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Unemployment hits roughly 32 percent as the Great Depression grips Australia

A decade to recover from the export collapse of 1929

On the timeline · around 1932, at the Depression's worst · War, Depression, and a New NationWar, Depression, and a New NationRights, Reckoning, and Modern AustraliaUnemployment hits roughly 32 percent as the Great Depression grips Australia1920192519301935194019451950

Quick facts

Peak unemployment
around 32 percent, 1932
Factory output decline
about 40 percent, 1929-1931
People on sustenance payments
more than 60,000 by 1932
Recovery
unemployment down to roughly 9-11 percent by 1939

What happened

The 1929 Wall Street crash sent shockwaves through an Australian economy built on wool and wheat exports and reliant on London finance for borrowing, and both collapsed almost simultaneously. By 1932, Australia's official unemployment rate reached about 32 percent, among the highest of any country during the Depression, and this figure did not even count women who lost work or young people who had never held a job. Factory output fell around 40 percent between 1929 and 1931, and the government responded partly through 'sustenance' payments that supported more than 60,000 Australians by 1932, while also increasing standard working hours from 44 to 48 per week.

Why it matters

It took most of the 1930s for unemployment to fall back toward pre-Depression levels, with the rate still around 9 to 11 percent by the time the Second World War began, and the decade's hardship shaped a generation's politics and expectations of government support that carried into the postwar welfare state.

How we know

The Reserve Bank of Australia's own historical research guide cites the official Australian Year Book unemployment figures for the period, cross-checked against export price and GDP data from the same era.

Sources

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Unemployment hits roughly 32 percent as the Great Depression grips Australia · History of Australia · SourcedStory