ECONOMIC INDICATORS – AUSTRALIA

Construction falls for fifth quarter running

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 28-Nov-19

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that residential construction activity fell by 3.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the three months to September, to $18.3bn in seasonally adjusted terms. Meanwhile, engineering construction declined by 0.2 per cent in the September quarter, to $21.1bn, although non-residential construction increased by four per cent to $11.4bn. Gareth Aird of the Commonwealth Bank says the residential construction sector continues to be a drag on the economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence falls to 106.8

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Nov-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 2.8% to 106.8 in the week ended 24 November, to its lowest level in more than four years. Weakness is across the board. Households’ views towards current financial conditions fell 0.1%, while views towards future financial conditions plunged 4.4%; current financial conditions are still above average, but future conditions are now below average. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions fell 1.3% to a four-year low, and views towards future economic conditions declined 4.6% to an all-time low. The ‘time to buy a household item’ index was also at a multi-year low, falling 3.3%, but the four-week moving average of inflation expectations was stable at 3.9%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down to 109.9

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 20-Nov-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 1.1% to 109.9 in the week ended 17 November. Households’ views towards current financial conditions fell 2.6%, while views towards future financial conditions declined by 4.9%; both these subindices are near their multi-year lows. However, consumers’ views toward current economic conditions rose 0.3% and views towards future economic conditions gained 0.2%. The ‘time to buy a major household item’ index gained 0.4% after falling 3.9% in the previous week. The four-week moving average of inflation expectations declined by 0.1ppt to 3.9% as the weekly reading fell to 3.8%, its lowest level since the end of June.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

$25k gap shows gender pay parity a distant dream

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Lunn
The Australian – Page: 2 : 19-Nov-19

New data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows that the gender pay gap has narrowed by 0.5 per cent in 2019, to 20.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the agency’s latest gender equality scorecard shows that more than 50 per cent of employers have yet to introduce employer-funded paid parental leave, while the proportion of female CEOs remains unchanged at 17.1 per cent. However, WGEA director Libby Lyons notes that more employers are now offering paid domestic violence leave.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY

Soft growth in wages points to sluggish economy

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by
The Australian – Page: 27 : 14-Nov-19

Official data shows that wages grew by 0.5 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms in the September quarter, and by 2.2 per cent year-on-year. This compares with growth of 0.6 per cent in the June quarter and 2.3 per cent in the year to June. Wages in the public sector increased by 2.5 per cent in the year to September, while private sector wages increased by 2.2 per cent. Sarah Hunter of BIS Oxford Economics says that given the state of the economy, a significant uptick in wages is unlikely in the near-term.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, INDEED INCORPORATED

Real unemployment & under-employment above 2.3 million

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 14-Nov-19

The latest data for the Roy Morgan employment series shows that 12,714,000 Australians were employed in October 2019, up 520,000 over the past year. The rise in employment was driven by a significant increase in full-time employment of 695,000 over the last year (to 8,582,000); however, part-time employment has declined by 175,000 over the past year (to 4,132,000). The figures also show that 1,075,000 Australians (7.8% of the workforce) were unemployed in October, down 190,000 on a year ago, and the unemployment rate was down 1.6%. An additional 1,232,000 Australians (8.9% of the workforce) were under-employed, working part-time and looking for more work, a decrease of 10,000 in a year (down 0.3%). In total, 2,307,000 Australians (16.7% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in October, down 200,000 on a year ago. Roy Morgan’s real unemployment figure of 7.8% is higher than the current ABS estimate for September 2019 of 5.2%, although the gap between the two measures is the closest it has been since September 2015. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says the best way to reduce the high level of labour under-utilisation, now stuck at over 2 million for over four years, is to provide a healthy and strong economy that encourages businesses to invest in growing their human capital by hiring new workers.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence down to 111.1

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Nov-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence fell 2.1% to 111.1 in the week ended 10 November. Households’ views towards current financial conditions fell 3.2%, while views towards future financial conditions declined by 1.6%. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions fell 1.6%, but views towards future economic conditions gained 0.3%. The ‘time to buy a major household item’ declined 3.9% after a gain of 1.3% in the previous week. The four-week moving average of inflation expectations remained stable at 4.0%, although the weekly reading saw an increase to back above 4%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Federal Election bounce over – Business Confidence drops to lowest since April

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Nov-19

In Australia, Business Confidence fell 4.6pts (-4.2%) to 106.0 in October 2019, according to the latest Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey. Business Confidence is now at its lowest level since the Federal Election in mid-May; it is also 7.1pts lower than a year ago and 9.5pts below the long-term average of 115.5. Now 41.8% (down 9.9ppts) of businesses expect the business to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, while 20.3% (up 2.1ppts) expect the business to be ‘worse off’. Meanwhile, 40.7% (down 5.8ppts) of businesses expect the Australian economy to have ‘good times’ economically over the next year, while 52.4% (up 4.2ppts) expect the economy to have ‘bad times’. Some 50.4% (down 2.1ppts) of businesses say the next year will be a ‘good time to invest in growing the business’, while only 35.8% (down 2.8ppts) say it will be a ‘bad time to invest’. Roy Morgan Business Confidence results in October are based on 1,104 interviews with a cross-section of Australian businesses.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Wages rising faster than cost of living – for most

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 7-Nov-19

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the cost of living for working households increased by 0.1 per cent in the September quarter, and 1.3 per cent in the year to September. This compares with wage growth of 2.3 per cent. The figures also show that the cost of living for age pensioners increased by 0.4 per cent in the September quarter and 1.7 per cent year-on-year. The cost of living for self- funded retirees in turn rose by 0.9 per cent in the quarter and an above-inflation 1.9 per cent in the year to September.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BIS OXFORD ECONOMICS PTY LTD, LATERAL ECONOMICS

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence up to 113.5

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Nov-19

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 2.8% to 113.5 in the week ended 3 November, after falling 1.1% in the previous week. Households’ views towards current financial conditions rose 1.6%; views towards future financial conditions gained 2.6%, rising for a fourth consecutive week. Consumers’ views toward current economic conditions gained 2.6% and views towards future economic conditions rose 6.8%. The ‘time to buy a major household item’ was up 1.3%, but the four-week average for inflation expectations declined by 0.1ppt to 4.0%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ