The Australian economy has produced 300,000 jobs in the last twelve months. Employment growth is expected to continue; various leading indicators such as ANZ’s Job Ads survey and parts of NAB’s Business survey suggest as much. However, the rate of increase is expected to slow, at least in the short-term.
The ABS has released employment estimates for July which indicate the total number of people employed in Australia in either full-time or part-time work fell by 3,900. The report also revised previous estimates from May and June. May’s employment growth number was revised down a touch from +13,400 to +13,000 while employment growth during June was revised up from +50,900 to +58,200.
Market expectations prior to the report’s release were for 15,000 new positions to be created but financial markets judged the lower headline rate and revisions enough to offset the drop in overall employment. Local bond yields were a little lower by the end of the day, while the Aussie dollar firmed slightly after the figures were released. 3-year bond yields finished the day unchanged at 2.03% and 10-year bond yields decreased by 2bps to 2.56%. The Aussie dollar jumped by about 0.25 US cents to 72.60 US cents before settling at 72.70 US cents in afternoon and evening trading.