- Glenn Stevens, RBA Governor
Australia's labour market remained fragile, as the nation's unemployment climbed in April, underlying a degree of spare capacity officials need to reduce to put the economy back on track. Australia's jobless rate climbed to 6.2% in the reported month, up from 6.1% in March, with unemployment rate having been stubbornly stuck above 6% for eleven months in a row. The Bureau of Statistics reported that the total number of employed persons dropped by 2,900 to 11,724,600 in April, driven by a fall in full-time employment for males, and partly retracing March's unexpectedly high 37,700 added jobs. The number of people who were unemployed in Australia in April rose by 7,000. The labour force participation rate remained unchanged at 64.8% last month. Most economists expect the jobless rate to peak around 6.5%, hitting the highest in more than a decade, later this year. The large degree of space capacity in the labour market stems from the precipitous decline in mining investment, which has sent shock-waves through the Australian economy.
Earlier in the week, the Reserve Bank of Australia cut the official cash rate to a new low of 2.00%, down from 2.25%, in an attempt to support the faltering economy. The central bank reiterated that it would be some time before unemployment fell consistently, or that jobless rate is expected to peak higher than previously thought.
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