250,000 find work in jobs surge

Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-Sep-17

Australia’s unemployment rate was steady at 5.6 per cent in August 2017, with the economy adding 54,000 jobs during the month. The latest labour force data also shows that 250,000 jobs have been created nationwide over the last six months, including 94,600 in Queensland and 82,800 in New South Wales. Meanwhile, the labour market participation rate has risen to a record 77.6 per cent, while the proportion of people with a job or actively looking for work has reached a five-year high of 65.3 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Wage growth going backwards

Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 7-Sep-17

National accounts data shows that 240,000 jobs were created in Australia during the year to June 2017. However, the figures also show that wages grew by just 0.7 per cent in the June quarter and 2.1 per cent year-on-year. Likewise, annual growth in compensation per hour is at its lowest level in almost 25 years, at negative 0.3 per cent in the June quarter. Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe recently forecast that growth in wages in some sectors will eventually be extended to the broader economy, but the national accounts data suggests that this is not yet occurring.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Mining-state revival drives ‘best job growth in 40 years’

Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 18-Aug-17

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that 202,000 jobs have been created so far in 2017, including 153,000 full-time jobs. Some 27,900 jobs were created during July, with the official unemployment rate easing to 5.6 per cent and the labour force participation rate rising to a new high of 77.4 per cent. The major mining states of Western Australia and Queensland have recorded jobs growth of 35,400 and 70,900 respectively in the year to date. Meanwhile, the average full-time wage has risen to $A80,250, according to separate data from the ABS.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK

Lowe may sit on rates two years into his term

Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 14-Aug-17

Economists polled by Bloomberg expect Australia’s official unemployment rate to have remained at 5.6 per cent in July 2017, with about 20,000 jobs created during the month. The latest jobs and wage price index data are among the key indicators to be released in the week beginning 14 August. Meanwhile, Vimal Gor of BT Investment Management expects official interest rates to remain on hold in 2018, citing factors such as low wages growth and the growing gap between business and consumer confidence.

CORPORATES
BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Plea to revive growth economy

Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 27-Jul-17

Members of the Business Council of Australia’s board have called for the corporate tax rate to be reduced in order to lift the nation’s economic growth rate to at least three per cent. They argue that the economy needs to expand at such a rate to increase wages and create jobs. BCA president Grant King adds that regulatory and industrial relations reform is necessary to encourage jobs growth, particularly given the impact of digital disruption on the labour market.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Resource states recover to drive jobs growth

Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 6 : 16-Jun-17

The Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported that 42,000 new jobs were added to the economy in May 2017. Full-time jobs accounted for 80 per cent of the 141,000 new jobs in the past three months. New South Wales added 49,000 new jobs over the past six months, while Victoria added 41,000. Resources states Queensland and Western Australia both recorded improved jobs growth in the past six months. Kristina Clifton of the Commonwealth Bank said the recent good job figures means an interest rate cut is unlikely in the foreseeable future.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

New jobs: it’s more about bodies than brains

Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Jun-17

A study of Australia’s fastest-growing job occupations suggests that its citizens are more interested in fitness and their appearance than in the much vaunted Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) sector. However, Jeremy Thorpe of PricewaterhouseCoopers, which used Australian Bureau of Statistics data to prepare the study, notes that there is not an actual STEM sector, so the apparent lack of fast-growing STEM jobs could be misleading. PwC found that indigenous health workers and sales assistants are the two fastest growing occupations since 2012, with florists, electrical engineers and secretaries among the occupations that have contracted the most.

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PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Cash upbeat as job figures defy gloom

Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 4 : 16-Dec-16

Australia’s official unemployment rate rose from 5.6 per cent in October 2016 to 5.7 per cent in November. It has increased by 0.7 per cent in the last 12 months, although the Budget had forecast a 1.75 per cent increase. The figures show that some 39,300 full-time jobs were created in November, but the number of full-time positions fell by more than 45,000 overall in the first 11 months of the year. The youth unemployment rate has risen from 12.5 per cent to 14.6 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Spike in full-time work puts jobs market doom in shade

Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Nov-16

Official data shows that Australia gained a net 98,000 jobs in October 2016. The creation of 41,500 full-time jobs has offset a 31,700 fall in part-time positions during the month. The nation’s unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.6 per cent, while there was an 0.9 per cent increase in the number of hours worked. The data also shows that 133,000 part-time jobs have been created so far in 2016, while the economy has shed 89,000 full-time jobs.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Jobs growth makes for murky reading in census aftermath

Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 19-Aug-16

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the economy added 71,600 part-time jobs in July 2016, although it shed 45,000 full-time positions. Currency traders responded positively to the net gain of more than 26,000 jobs, with the Australian dollar peaking at $US0.7720 in local trading on 18 August. However, Kate Hicks of Capital Economics notes that some of the jobs would have been temporary ones associated with the census.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD