Australia’s Employment Figures Remain Strong as Unemployment Nudges up

Australia's Job Market Resistance Is Rising, With The Unemployment Rate Fixed At 4%.

Despite everything, unemployment hit the mark of 4 %, signalling a rise of 0.1% during the previous period. Nevertheless, in most regions, Job Market Strength still stands firmly which the  Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) confirmed.

Net Job Positions Created

Employment in Australia increased by 56,300 last month which is one of the positive quintiles that indicate an expansion of the job market. As a result, the total Australian employment number stands at 14,584,400, while the number of unemployed citizens has also increased and stood at 604,100, which is an increase of 10,300. These represent an increase of 0.4% and an increase of 1.7% in the numbers respectively.

Employment Participation Ratio Reaches New Heights

Although the data presented by Rita does not depict a stagnation of Bjorn Jarvis- Head of labour statistics for the Australian Bureau Of Statistics- incurred while stating that important advances had been achieved by employment even in this difficult period of the economy.

The employment to population employment rate has risen to 65.5%. This means that Jarvis’s estimate of 0.5 %age points increase from a year ago and 2.3 %age points increase from pre-pandemic figures have also been surpassed.

Balancing Strength and Economic Concerns

Indeed's APAC economist Callam Pickering, noted a contradictory but positive paradox regarding the conditions in the job market as well as the general economy.

“The degree of durability in the labour market comes as a surprise given the state of the economy. This adds further complication to the RBA’s decision on whether they should ease interest rates during the first quarter of 2025,” Pickering said.

Furthermore, he stated that no cuts will be made on interest rates until inflation and productivity growth speed up.

“Much work on service sector inflation and productivity advancement still has to be done if the RBA is to get anywhere close to their goal of 2-3% inflation rate,” Pickering explained.

The Effect of Trends Globally and Seasonally

The increase in the strength of the labour market recently has also been attributed to temporary, seasonal reasons by State Street Global Advisors’ APAC economist Krishna Bhimavarapu. Even countries such as the US and Canada exhibit the same patterns.

“Growth in December employment was higher than moderates’ expectations and was mainly due to the surge of temporary jobs offered. However, it is worth noting that the MLC (monthly leading indicator) survey showed full-time employment slipping, which indicates gradual recovery in the labour market,” Bhimavarapu said.

Looking Forward to Year 2025

While there are Increased signs of the durability of the labour market, there remains an overall uncertainty. Interest rates over the general economy are expected to change but the RBA’s monetary policies and information about inflation data will shed further light in the future.

At this time, there remains strength and a certain degree of stability in Australia’s workforce which should boost hopes for more sustainable economic growth in the next quarters.

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