Australia Jobless Rate Seen Steady at 4-Year High in September
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Australia's unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at a four-year high in September, but analysts suspect a rise to 6 percent and above, levels not seen in a decade, is only a matter of time with the economy still struggling to gain momentum.
Official data on Thursday is expected to show the unemployment rate unchanged at 5.8 percent in September despite the creation of 15,000 jobs, median forecasts in a Reuters poll show. Employment fell in both July and August.
National elections on September 8 are expected to have provided a temporary boost to employment, but longer-term pressures on the jobs market remain, Reuters reported.
Miners are expected to keep shedding jobs as they shift to a less labor-intensive phase after an investment boom and cut costs, while firms in other sectors are cautious about hiring as they face a still-strong currency and uncertain global outlook.
As such, analysts said the jobless rate should trend higher. It has already risen from a low of 5.0 percent in April last year, and a move to 6 percent and above would take it to highs not seen since mid-2003.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is predicting modest employment growth into 2014, reflecting an economy that is growing at a below-potential pace.
That would drive the jobless rate gradually higher for a year or so, before leveling out and then declining as the economy eventually picks up steam, the RBA has said.
