Australian jobs hit record as stocks, currency soar
Thu Jul 8, 2010
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian employment has hit a record high of 11.1 million people at work, official data showed Thursday, sending the dollar and stock market soaring on renewed confidence in the economy's resilience.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the economy had created 45,900 jobs in June, enabling unemployment to hold steady at 5.1 percent and matching May's rate, which was revised down from 5.2 percent.
The number of new jobs far outstripped economists' forecasts of 15,000 and pushed the total to the highest on record, a far cry from ongoing employment woes in other advanced nations.
Employment Minister Simon Crean said resource-rich Australia's economy had produced employment which was the "envy" of many rival countries.
"Australia?s strong labour force figures stand in stark contrast to the stubbornly high unemployment rates still being experienced in many other advanced economies, where the aftershocks from the crisis are continuing to reverberate," Crean said.
"Australia?s unemployment rate is clearly the envy of most of our major trading partners."
The data, seen as renewed proof of Australia's resistance to global economic turmoil, pushed the Australian dollar nearly a US cent higher to 87.41 US cents in late afternoon trade.
ANZ shares closed up more than four percent, leading a charge by the big banks which helped an overall market rise of 2.4 percent -- the strongest session in a month. The market was also boosted by a major Wall Street rally.
Treasurer Wayne Swan said the jobs data showed Australia was "well ahead of the curve", also pointing to updated IMF forecasts released Thursday which flagged 3.0 percent growth in Australia in 2010 and 3.5 percent in 2011.
"The Australian economy is well placed to benefit from our proximity and links to the world?s fastest growing region (Asia), with the IMF pointing to robust commodity prices which are boosting domestic demand in our economy," Swan said.
"Australia remains a world leader in the global recovery, with stronger growth, lower unemployment and much lower debt than other advanced economies," he added.
RBC Capital Markets economist Su-Lin Ong described the unemployment figure as a "very strong result", with the bulk of positions created full-time.
"On top of that, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since early 2009, which is pretty impressive given the participation rate also rose," she said.
Unemployment was at 4.8 percent in January 2009 and jumped to 5.2 percent the following month as the global crisis took hold. It then peaked at 5.8 percent, well below government forecasts of 8.5 percent.
May's annual budget tipped unemployment to decline to 5.0 percent in 2010-11 and 4.75 percent over the following 12 months, a level widely considered consistent with full employment.
Unemployment has fallen in the United States to 9.5 percent, its lowest in a year, but Labor Department figures showed a net loss of 125,000 jobs, stoking fears that the recovery is slowing.
In debt-plagued Europe a record 10.1 percent of people are unemployed, the highest rate since the euro came into being in 1999.
Thu Jul 8, 2010
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian employment has hit a record high of 11.1 million people at work, official data showed Thursday, sending the dollar and stock market soaring on renewed confidence in the economy's resilience.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the economy had created 45,900 jobs in June, enabling unemployment to hold steady at 5.1 percent and matching May's rate, which was revised down from 5.2 percent.
The number of new jobs far outstripped economists' forecasts of 15,000 and pushed the total to the highest on record, a far cry from ongoing employment woes in other advanced nations.
Employment Minister Simon Crean said resource-rich Australia's economy had produced employment which was the "envy" of many rival countries.
"Australia?s strong labour force figures stand in stark contrast to the stubbornly high unemployment rates still being experienced in many other advanced economies, where the aftershocks from the crisis are continuing to reverberate," Crean said.
"Australia?s unemployment rate is clearly the envy of most of our major trading partners."
The data, seen as renewed proof of Australia's resistance to global economic turmoil, pushed the Australian dollar nearly a US cent higher to 87.41 US cents in late afternoon trade.
ANZ shares closed up more than four percent, leading a charge by the big banks which helped an overall market rise of 2.4 percent -- the strongest session in a month. The market was also boosted by a major Wall Street rally.
Treasurer Wayne Swan said the jobs data showed Australia was "well ahead of the curve", also pointing to updated IMF forecasts released Thursday which flagged 3.0 percent growth in Australia in 2010 and 3.5 percent in 2011.
"The Australian economy is well placed to benefit from our proximity and links to the world?s fastest growing region (Asia), with the IMF pointing to robust commodity prices which are boosting domestic demand in our economy," Swan said.
"Australia remains a world leader in the global recovery, with stronger growth, lower unemployment and much lower debt than other advanced economies," he added.
RBC Capital Markets economist Su-Lin Ong described the unemployment figure as a "very strong result", with the bulk of positions created full-time.
"On top of that, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since early 2009, which is pretty impressive given the participation rate also rose," she said.
Unemployment was at 4.8 percent in January 2009 and jumped to 5.2 percent the following month as the global crisis took hold. It then peaked at 5.8 percent, well below government forecasts of 8.5 percent.
May's annual budget tipped unemployment to decline to 5.0 percent in 2010-11 and 4.75 percent over the following 12 months, a level widely considered consistent with full employment.
Unemployment has fallen in the United States to 9.5 percent, its lowest in a year, but Labor Department figures showed a net loss of 125,000 jobs, stoking fears that the recovery is slowing.
In debt-plagued Europe a record 10.1 percent of people are unemployed, the highest rate since the euro came into being in 1999.
