All eyes on jobless latest amid concerns about ‘economic trajectory’
The jobs market has held its strong position for another month despite a dire warning about the trajectory of the Australian economy.
All eyes will be on the performance of Australian job markets when the latest figures are released later today. (AAP image).
The March labour force report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics has come in with the jobless rate unchanged at 3.5 percent, following several months of ultra-low unemployment levels despite the Reserve Bank delivering a series of interest rate hikes since last year.
Around 53,000 jobs were estimated to be added over the month, official Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data reveals, with the participation rate holding at 66.7 per cent.
“With employment increasing by around 53,000 people, and the number of unemployed decreasing by 1,600 people, the unemployment rate remained at a near 50-year low of 3.5 per cent,” ABS head of labour statistics Lauren Ford said.
She said the figures reflected ongoing tightness in the labour market and they explained why employers were finding it hard to fill roles.
Westpac and NAB economists said there were signs of softening starting to appear in the jobs market, they expected it would take some time to show up materially in the labour force numbers.
The bullish jobs predictions come as Commonwealth Bank chief economist Stephen Halmarick says he expects household incomes to collapse, with any increases in pay packets to be offset with higher interest rates and increases in taxes.
“This will only get worse through 2023 on the lagged effect of higher interest costs and as wages growth struggles to keep up with the pace of inflation,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Mr Halmarick predicted the Reserve Bank could be forced to cut interest rates by the end of the year amid a stalling economy and rising unemployment.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers admitted households were feeling financial pressures, adding that was why the government was focused on providing cost-of-living relief without fuelling inflation in the upcoming budget.
“One of the key pressures, one of the key features of the budget that we hand down next month will be this global economic uncertainty,” he told ABC TV on Thursday.
“The best response to economic uncertainty around the world is responsible economic management at home and that’s what we’ll see in the budget again.”
Dr Chalmers is in Washington for key talks with US officials about the global economic outlook.
