Australia employment falls for second month, jobless at 8-mth high
2023.02.15 19:54
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A worker pushes a trolley loaded with goods past a construction site in the central business district (CBD) of Sydney in Australia, March 15, 2018.REUTERS/David Gray
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia employment surprised in January by falling for a second straight month while the jobless rate jumped to its highest since last May, a soft result that could lessen pressure for further aggressive interest rate hikes.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed net employment fell 11,500 in January from December, when they dropped a revised 19,900. Market forecasts had been for a rise of 20,000 in January.
The jobless rate climbed to 3.7%, when analysts had looked for it to hold at 3.5%, and hours worked fell by a sharp 2.1% as more workers than usual took annual leave in January.
