MNI 5 THINGS: Australia Job Numbers Surge, Unemployment Steady

By Lachlan Colquhoun

     SYDNEY (MNI) - Australian Labour Force Data for January was released

Thursday, with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate steady at 5.0%.   

     Here are five points of interest from the Australian Bureau of Statistics

release.  

No surprise in unemployment rate. 

The 5.0% outturn was expected by analysts and was consistent with forecasts from

the Reserve Bank of Australia. The RBA is expecting unemployment to remain

steady at 5.0% throughout 2019.

Labour Force increases. 

Although the unemployment rate was steady, employment jumped by a seasonal

39,100, more than double the expected rate. The overall unemployment rate was

unchanged at 5.0% due to an increase in the participation rate, up 0.1% to

65.7%, as more people joined or rejoined the workforce.

Full time jobs rebound. 

Reversing the trend of recent months, the overall employment increase was driven

by a rise in full time jobs with 65,400 new ones created, while the number of

part time jobs fell 26,300. The number of people employed in Australia has

increased by 2.2% in the last 12 months.

NSW the standout. 

New South Wales is the state with the biggest downside risk from falling

property prices, but conversely, the state is also experiencing the lowest

levels of unemployment, with the rate falling from 4.3% to 3.9% m/m in January.

The compares with Tasmania, where house prices are booming to record highs but,

unemployment added 1.0% to 7.0% in the month. 

Playing to RBA script. 

While the Reserve Bank of Australia now has a more balanced outlook on interest

rates, with the recent Statement on Monetary Policy describing scenarios for

either a rate hike or cut, it has been more optimistic about the economy than

market analysts. Today's figure shows that employment growth is continuing, and

combined with yesterday's annualised 2.3% increase in wages will be welcomed by

bank economists. These indicate that the despite recent downgrades in growth

forecasts, the economy is still travelling in a positive direction.

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

--MNI Sydney Bureau; +61 405322399; email: lachlan.colquhoun.ext@marketnews.com

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