- Stephen Walters, chief economist at JP Morgan
Australia's jobless rate declined as employment surged in October, overshooting economists' expectations by a wide margin. A steep increase in the number of jobs created by the South Pacific economy pushed the unemployment rate below 6.0% for the first time in six months, decreasing chances of further monetary policy easing from the Reserve Bank of Australia. The nation's jobless rate slid to 5.9% in October, down from 6.2% a month earlier, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Economists, in contrast, had predicted the reading to remain unchanged. The total number of people with jobs surged by 58,600 in the reported month, well above the consensus forecast for a 15,000 gain. The number of unemployed people fell by 33,400. Moreover, the participation rate, climbed to 65.0% from 64.9% in September. Yet, the rate remained lower than the 65.1% in July, when it was at the highest level in more than two years.
A separate report showed consumer price inflation expectations were unchanged in October, suggesting weak inflation data are having a little effect on expectations. Australian's predict price increases of around 3.5% year-on-year over the next 12 months. The CPI climbed at a steady pace of 1.5% year-on-year in the September quarter.
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