Australian Job Market: 50,000 Got Hired in April, Up by 5.5% from March
Australian employers took in some 50,100 workers in April, hinting optimism the country continues to be resilient against the global fiscal economy.
Data released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the jobs market in April yielded 34,500 new full-time positions and 15,600 part-time jobs, bringing nationwide total employment to 11.66 million.
The April figures followed a drop in March recorded at more than 30,000 in total employment. February came in with a rise of more than 70,000. Economists had earlier predicted the unemployment rate in April to remain at 5.6 per cent, with only possibly 11,000 new jobs created.
"Obviously the numbers have been very volatile in recent months but if you look through that at the trend, employment does look as though it's been improving since the beginning of the year," Paul Bloxham, HSBC Australia chief economist, said.
He insinuated that the Reserve Bank of Australia may not need to cut again prevailing cash rates, which was slashed a quarter of a percentage point to 2.75 per cent on Tuesday.
"We're still of the view that the slump in growth may be behind us and the RBA may not need to cut again."
The Australian dollar grew to $US1.0248 from $US1.0189 immediately after the data was released.
"Our view is that the interest rate sensitive parts of the economy - the housing sector and the retail sector - are already getting support from low interest rates and we expect that is what's supporting growth," Mr Bloxham said.
Among the top employers for the period were Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips, BG Group Plc, and Santos Ltd., as well as a ConocoPhillips and Origin Energy Ltd. venture.