Australia’s headline unemployment rate was 4 per cent in May, down 0.1 percentage points from April. The unemployment rate declined slightly because employment rose by 40,000 people in May, and the number of officially unemployed people fell by 9,000. The Bureau of Statistics says in April there had been more unemployed people than usual who...
Tag: economic growth
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Australia ‘teetering on the brink of recession’ as economy barely grows
Australia’s economy grew by 0.1 per cent over the first three months of 2024 and 1.1 per cent over the year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) national accounts. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it wasn’t a surprise to see the economy barely growing, but Australia was still doing better than many comparable countries....
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Inflation rises slightly in April to 3.6pc but economists say that should ring ‘alarm bells’ for RBA
In short: The annual rate of inflation ticked up to 3.6 per cent in April, from 3.5 per cent in March. Economists say multiple measures of inflation are now heading in the wrong direction. What’s next? It has raised concerns, once again, that the Reserve Bank may have to respond by lifting interest rates. The...
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Big four banks warn first rate cut won’t come until November, as ‘incredibly strong’ migration makes the RBA’s task ‘more difficult’
In short: The economics teams at Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banks all expect the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates in November, rather than September. They say last week’s surprisingly strong inflation data show inflation is ‘stickier’ than anticipated. But extremely weak retail sales in March show households are under pressure, while strong population growth is complicating the RBA’s...