Australia added nearly one quarter of a million jobs over the 2016/2017 financial year and growth in employment numbers forecast by various leading indicators was still coming through in the latest figures. The ABS released employment estimates which indicated Australia’s unemployment rate remained steady at 5.6% while the participation rate rose from 64.9% to 65.0%. The total number of people employed in Australia in either full-time or part-time work rose by 14,000 during the month, which was close to the market’s expectation of +15,000. Total hours worked in June were 0.5% higher than in May and 3.3% higher than a year ago.
Hours worked rose by 0.5% or 3.3% compared to June 2016, the result of 62,000 more fulltime jobs and 48,000 fewer part-time roles.
Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk thought the figures were good but he and his colleagues see some weakness ahead. “All up this was positive update on the labour market following the robust trend sent by the leading indicators. We still expect the monthly numbers to be quite volatile month to month but our Jobs Index is pointing to total employment growth potentially hitting 2.5% by year’s end…We are, however, looking for employment growth to slow as we move into 2017 on the back of a correction to dwelling construction activity, on-going soft household consumption and an underwhelming lift in private investment.”