Labour Force Preview 15/4/2020.......>

AUSTRALIA DATA: Labour Force Preview 15/4/2020 (1130 Local)

-Market March Median 5.5%; Feb 5.1%

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- Markets are expecting an increase in unemployment, but the full impact of the

COVID-19 disruptions will not be reflected in the March data which will come

from surveys completed by March 21, before many businesses closed their doors.

Medians see a rise in the unemployment rate to 5.5%, with a bigger jump in

April.

- Modelling by the Australian Treasury Department released this week forecast

that unemployment would hit 10% in the June quarter, the highest since 1994.

- The Federal Government has committed A$130 billion to its 'JobKeeper' program

to subsidise businesses to keep employing workers. Treasury modelling showed

that without this package unemployment would reach 15% in Q2.

- The peak for unemployment in Australia since World War 2 was 11.2% in 1992.

During the Great Depression, Australian unemployment peaked at 19.2% in 1932.