To some degree, this month’s figures represent a blip – the payroll data released yesterday by the ABS shows this hike in the unemployment rate will be temporary.
The ABS data shows the Australian labour market, and hence the Australian economy, took a slight pause in its recovery during January in response to the additional lockdown procedures implemented over Christmas.
While these are a “beautiful set of numbers” we already know this rebound in employment is not likely to last into July because of the re-imposition of lockdown restrictions in Melbourne
The ABS figures show the labour market deteriorated through May, consistent with expectations that the Australian economy was in the midst of a sharp contraction due to the coronavirus shutdown.
As widely anticipated the GDP growth figure release today was 0.5 percent – it is modest but will begin to look impressive by the time we see the Q1 2020 figures.
The new ABS gas price index shines some light on the opaqueness of gas supply agreements, increasing the transparency and quality of information available in the market.
