October 17th 2024.
It's a remarkable day for Australia as the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that the country's unemployment rate has hit an all-time low. For the first time in history, 10 million Australians are now employed on a full-time basis. This news has dashed any hopes of a pre-Christmas interest rate cut, as the figures show a strong and stable job market.
The ABS report showed that the jobless rate for the month of September remained unchanged from the previous month at 4.1 per cent. This was after a whopping 64,000 new jobs were created, surpassing the market's expectations. Initially, the ABS had reported the August rate to be 4.2 per cent, but upon further examination, it was revised down by 0.1 per cent.
The data also revealed that the number of employed Australians has reached a record high of 10.03 million, a milestone that has never before been achieved. According to the ABS head of labour statistics, Bjorn Jarvis, this is due to the increase of 64,000 people in employment and a decrease of 9,000 in the number of unemployed individuals. He also noted that over the past six months, the unemployment rate has been consistently at 4.1 per cent.
However, despite the positive news, the ABS report also showed that the number of unemployed individuals has risen by 90,000 since September of 2023. But compared to the pre-pandemic levels, there are still 93,000 fewer unemployed individuals, which is a promising sign for the country's economic recovery.
The better-than-expected jobs figures have put an end to any speculations of an early interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). In their latest board meeting, the RBA had acknowledged the possibility of a rate cut if the unemployment rate went beyond their expectations. But with the current job market, it is highly unlikely that this will happen.
The RBA had previously predicted that the jobless rate would reach 4.3 per cent by the end of the year. However, with the latest figures, it seems that Australia's job market is stronger than anticipated. This is a positive sign for the country's economy and a testament to the resilience of its workforce.
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