Unemployment down after solid April

Xavi6

Some good news -

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25445721-661,00.html

Unemployment down, dollar up, market rallies

May 08, 2009 12:00am

A TRIPLE treat of surprise economic cheer is driving hopes Australia will survive the recession better than most nations.

Falling unemployment, a rising dollar and a fast-finishing stock market have combined to keep the gloom at bay - for now, at least.

Economists' predictions that unemployment would tip 6 per cent on Thursday proved unfounded when the seasonally adjusted national jobless rate tumbled from 5.7 to 5.4 per cent for April.

It was the first fall in the key economic indicator since August last year.

The number of people in work leapt by more than 27,000 - driven by a near 50,000 increase in full-time employment while part-time jobs fell.

The dollar responded strongly and closed above 75c against the US dollar - its highest point in seven months.

And the better than expected jobless rate fed into a day of gains in share trading as the stock market soared to its best close for the year.

Despite the recession-busting vibe - after this week's surge in retail spending - national leaders warned it could be a false dawn.

The Government still expects the nation to slide into recession.

Next week's federal Budget is tipped to revise Treasury's unemployment forecast to about 8 per cent. Some economists and industry leaders fear the rate could climb to 9 per cent next year.

Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said the latest figures showed the Government's stimulus packages and lower interest rates were supporting jobs and businesses.

"We think it's pretty likely that we are heading into recession," Mr Tanner said. "It appears pretty much inevitable because of the global circumstances."

Deputy PM Julia Gillard was cautious.

"We don't get carried away by one month's figures," Ms Gillard said.

Victoria reversed two months of falling full-time employment to record a surge of almost 20,000 new full-time positions.

In a mixed bag, 28,000 part-time Victorian jobs disappeared as the state's jobless rate remained steady at 5.6 per cent.

CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian described the shrinking jobless rate as a "phenomenal result".

"If the current trend keeps up, it could be the shortest recession in history," Mr Sebastian said.

myhorse

To say I am gob smacked is an understatement. Where were these jobs created? This morning (gmt) when these figures were released a spokesperson for JP morgan and NAB reckoned there was a miscalculation. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/07/2563675.htm
The A$ is certainly gained against the US$ and £ but you are still geting more for your € then in December.

shane86

Only a few weeks ago pretty much every Irish lad I knew here had no work, yet over the last few weeks everyone is getting regular work again. The Aussies are believing other peoples hype tbh. ffs, at the height of the boom they had 4% unemployment. Essentially 4% of people who couldnt be arsed working. We had a similar figure during our boom. Now the rate is only 5.3%, it is a blip.

paulg1770

sounds hopeful

serfboard

shane86 wrote: »

ffs, at the height of the boom they had 4% unemployment. Essentially 4% of people who couldnt be arsed working. We had a similar figure during our boom. Now the rate is only 5.3%, it is a blip.

From Wikipedia:

In 1999, in the United States, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) gives an estimate of the "full-employment unemployment rate" of 4 to 6.4%. This is the estimated "structural" unemployment rate, (the unemployment when there is full employment)

Some further information about structural unemployment here.

Shutuplaura

I've seen absolutely no evidence of this myself I have to say!

zootroid

A friend of mine working in recruitment for financial services told me she noticed a slight improvement over the past month. I've noticed myself that there are a few more job adverts on recruitment websites. I doubt the country is out of the woods yet though.

hussey

smh reports inner sydney is 10%
http://www.smh.com.au/national/jobless-rate-doubles-in-innercity-sydney-20090514-b4ti.html?page=-1

Zambia

Well the odd thing is both my wife's company and mine are still hiring. Granted there are skills needed but still hiring. No WHV's considered and wages are not mind blowing but standard service sector type stuff.

Same type of Jobs that are avialible in Ireland (searched retail on Jobs.ie)

Shutuplaura

Nah, the only financial services jobs I can see on seek.com really are related to financial planning, collections and mortgages and I'd say that by far the greatest number are for collections, which to me doesn't bode well. Others who got the bullet from my old place at the same time are in the same boat.