ANZ’s job advertisement survey is well-known as a leading indicator of employment numbers in Australia. It reflects changes in demand for labour and it provides another measure of activity in the economy. There is also a fairly good inverse relationship between changes in Australia’s unemployment rates and changes in the RBA cash rate. Understanding the path of Australia’s unemployment rate has historically provided a reliable indicator of RBA rate changes.
June’s figures have been released and, after revisions, total advertisements fell by 1.7% to 175,660 (seasonally adjusted) while May’s seasonally adjusted figures were revised down from 181,812 to 181,765. On a 12 month basis, total job advertisements grew by 6.9%, which is quite a drop from May’s comparable growth rate of 11.5%.
Bond yields finished the day lower despite a rise in US yields on Friday night. Yields on 3 year and 10 year bonds both fell by 3bps to 2.05% and 2.61% respectively while the Aussie fell by around 0.70 US cents to 73.40 US cents.
