Employment

Employment figures released yesterday again continued the trend of increasing demand for labour as employment rose by 49,500 (above the market forecast of 20k). Of which, 55,800 were full time, as part-time fell by 6,300, and interestingly, hours worked dropped by 0.1%. The unemployment rate remained steady at 5.1% as the participation rose dramatically from 65.4% to 65.6%, once more showing the confidence of the local market. Short-term futures were heavily sold off (yield went higher) as the market immediately priced in a 65% chance of a rate rise in November. RBA Deputy Governor Ric Battellino is speaking today and it may be interesting to hear his views on both the domestic and international markets as we head into a ‘live’ meeting in November.