The monthly trend unemployment rate remained steady at 5.5 per cent in May 2018, according to latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.

Over the year to May, the unemployment rate declined 0.2 per cent, while the underemployment rate also fell by 0.2 per cent over the year to 8.5 per cent. The underemployment rate, which is the proportion of people who are working but would like to work more hours, remains below the peak of 8.7 per cent seen in 2017.

"The latest data tells us that over the past year both the trend unemployment rate and underemployment rate declined by 0.2 per cent, resulting in the underutilisation rate declining 0.4 per cent to 13.9 per cent," the Chief Economist for the ABS, Bruce Hockman, said.