The Australian economy has recorded another month of employment gains but previous months’ figures have been revised down and the unemployment rate has increased to 5.6% as more Australians join the workforce.
The ABS has released employment estimates for April which indicate the total number of people employed in Australia in either full-time or part-time work increased by 22,600. Market expectations prior to the report’s release were for 20,000 new positions to be created. February’s employment growth number was revised down again, this time from -6,300 to -7400 while employment growth during March was revised down from +4,900 to -700.
Local 3-year and 10-year bond yields had started the day higher after US yields increased overnight and they did not react materially after the figures were released. 3-year bond yields finished 2bps higher at 2.29% and 10-year bond yields increased by 4bps to 2.94%. The AUD was initially unresponsive but it then moved up around 0.3 US cents in the following half hour before sliding back over the course of the day to finish at 75.15 US cents.
