Little comfort for RBA in jobs data: Economy roundup
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Mike Preston, economics editor
A boost in the number of jobseekers to record levels has pushed Australia’s unemployment rate up slightly to 4.2% in April.
More than 17,000 new candidates entered the job market in April, driving the proportion of Australia’s working age population either in work or looking for work up 0.2% to a record 65.4%.
That meant despite a seasonally adjusted 25,400 boost in the number of people in jobs – full-time employment up by 19,000 and part-time employment by 6,300 – the total number of unemployed increased.
Employment levels are a key measure the Reserve Bank of Australia will be watching as it searches for signs that the economy and inflation are slowing. Despite the headline lift in unemployment, today’s result points to a resilient jobs market and will provide the RBA with little comfort.
On the markets today, at 12.30pm the S&P/ASX200 is up 0.9% on yesterday’s close to 5718.3.