December rate rise likely after surprise employment numbers

The Reserve Bank is set to raise interest rates next month after a surprise jump in the number of employed Australians.

The overall unemployment rate rose to 5.8 percent in October, after falling in September to 5.7 percent. However, the number of people employed increased by 24,500 to 10.8 million.

Part time employment, meanwhile, also increased with 21,500 people moving to part-time work last month, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

That increase in part time work pushed the total number of hours worked down by 1.9 million in October to 1.5 billion hours.

The overall rise in unemployment came in line with analyst expectations but the increase in actual jobs was a surprise and shows the resilience of Australia’s economic recovery, economists said.

"Australia is truly living up to its mantle as the wonder from down-under," said Savanth Sebastian, economist at CommSec. "Overall 24,500 jobs were created in October – a phenomenal result considering that in September the domestic labour market recorded the best job gains in two years."

The increase in jobs created in October makes a Reserve Bank interest rate rise more likely, he added.

"It appears almost certain that the Reserve Bank will break tradition and raise rates for the third consecutive month in December," Mr Sebastian said.

"The Reserve Bank does have the option of not raising rates, however the data over the last couple of weeks has been surprisingly strong. Keep in mind that the Reserve Bank does not hold its next meeting till February, so it may just be that the central bank raises rates in December and takes a well deserved break over Christmas."

Meanwhile, the ABS also reported that the number of unemployed Australians is at its highest level since January 2002, according to official figures.

The ABS said 670,100 people were unemployed in October, a rise of 11,000 compared to the previous month.

Last month’s fall in unemployment shocked economists, who had expected the number of jobless workers to rise further to 6 percent as cautious employers continued to keep a tight hold on costs.

Earlier this month, the government lowered its forecast for unemployment to peak at 6.75 percent next year.

money.ninemsn.com.au 12 Nov 2009

MORE GOVERNMENT LIES.

Unemployment levels have RISEN and NOT declined as mentioned.

The jobless rate is on a steady increase.

The so called 'rise' in employment is an official excuse so banks can rip customers off for more money.

This is supported by both the governments and the business community as a whole.

Economists use the REAL figure of 50% more than the governments official jobless rate.

The government deliberately lies about the jobless rate.