Extract from The Guardian
Pressure for interest rate cuts grows as unemployment figure rises to 6.3%, despite larger-than-expected rise in job creation
The unemployment rate has hit a 12-year high of 6.3%, fuelling talk of interest rate cuts in 2015.
November’s figure is up from 6.2% the previous month despite the creation of 42,700 jobs, a figure nearly three times larger than economists were expecting. However, only 1,800 positions were full-time.
The number of people looking for work also increased, putting pressure on the unemployment rate.
The employment minister, Eric Abetz, said the government’s infrastructure program, if rolled out as planned, would promote a surge in job opportunities
“Clearly we need to reboot the Australian economy,” Abetz told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday.
Rising unemployment not only meant less income tax revenue, it usually indicated softer economic activity, which meant less company tax receipts, Abetz said.
It was imperative the budget be brought back to surplus, he said.
“But we have to do it in a sensible, moderate way.”
In the most populous state, New South Wales, the jobless rate increased to 6% in November from 5.8%. The rate also rose in Western Australia to 5.2% from 5.1%.
But unemployment fell in Queensland (from 7.1% to 6.9%) and South Australia (from 6.7% to 6.6%). The rate was unchanged in Victoria (6.8%) and Tasmania at (6.9%).
The jobless rate rose from 5.1% to 5.2% in the Australian Capital Territory, but eased in the Northern Territory from 4% to 3.9% .
November’s figure is up from 6.2% the previous month despite the creation of 42,700 jobs, a figure nearly three times larger than economists were expecting. However, only 1,800 positions were full-time.
The number of people looking for work also increased, putting pressure on the unemployment rate.
The employment minister, Eric Abetz, said the government’s infrastructure program, if rolled out as planned, would promote a surge in job opportunities
“Clearly we need to reboot the Australian economy,” Abetz told reporters in Adelaide on Thursday.
Rising unemployment not only meant less income tax revenue, it usually indicated softer economic activity, which meant less company tax receipts, Abetz said.
It was imperative the budget be brought back to surplus, he said.
“But we have to do it in a sensible, moderate way.”
In the most populous state, New South Wales, the jobless rate increased to 6% in November from 5.8%. The rate also rose in Western Australia to 5.2% from 5.1%.
But unemployment fell in Queensland (from 7.1% to 6.9%) and South Australia (from 6.7% to 6.6%). The rate was unchanged in Victoria (6.8%) and Tasmania at (6.9%).
The jobless rate rose from 5.1% to 5.2% in the Australian Capital Territory, but eased in the Northern Territory from 4% to 3.9% .
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