The Unemployment rate increased to 4.2 per cent in July with at least 39,000 people now needed every month to stop a fast acceleration in the unemployment rate which is tipped to rise. This was up from 4.1 per cent in June, it was also a touch higher than economists’ forecasts of 4.1.
Last month 58,000 people found work and the rate of workforce participation hit a record high last month despite several Companies shedding employees due to rising employment costs and falling revenues due to inflation and cost of living pressures.
According to the Reserve Bank of Australia the labour market is cooling, with some blaming the Labor Federal Government who are pushing employees to deliver salary increases when their revenues are falling.
“The employment and participation measures remain historically high while unemployment and underemployment measures remain historically low, compared with what we saw before the pandemic. This suggests the labour market remains quite tight,” ABS head of labour statistics Kate Lamb said.
RBA governor Michele Bullock has in essence ruled out reducing interest rates this year, amid ongoing concerns about the enduring strength of domestic inflationary pressures and the impact that future salary increases will have on retailers.
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor claims that ABS Labour Force data released today confirms that more Australians are unemployed or looking for work, with seasonally adjusted data showing unemployment has reached its highest level under Labor.
It comes after wages data this week confirmed once again that real wages for working household are going backwards – down 2.2% over the year, and 9.4% under Labor.
Labor’s big spending agenda is keeping inflation higher for longer, meaning Australians are working harder than ever to make ends meet, but the purchasing power of their pay packets continues to decrease.
Meanwhile, Labor’s toxic workplace laws are putting productivity last and risking the sustainability of wage increases and the viability of economic growth.
The RBA’s Statement of Conduct of Monetary Policy last week downgraded their forecasts for real wages growth.
Based on these forecasts there will be no cumulative real wages growth under Labor’s whole term in Government.
Labor is letting Australians’ standard of living free-fall due to rising prices, rising taxes and rising mortgage repayments.
Inflation is running the economy, not the government. Labor is failing to lead and failing to make the tough decisions in the interests of Australian families and small businesses.
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said hardworking Australians are paying a high price for Labor’s economic mismanagement.
“Australians are suffering because of Labor’s economic mismanagement.
JB HI Fi CEO Terry Smart claims that his management team now have a key the focus on costs, striking a tricky balance as JB Hi-Fi strives for effective customer service to bank sales, while keeping wages under control.
“We just have to get staff (in store) right as it has such a big influence on the whole cost base, so anything else we do would just be around the edges,” he said. “We are always very considered before putting new roles into the corporate office, so there’s not a lot that we could do there.”
Cost of doing business represented 11.9 per cent of sales, up from 11.4 per cent in the prior half.
After hitting a low of 3.5 per cent in 2022 under a Liberal Nationals Coalition Government,, the unemployment rate has gradually crept higher over the past year, and now sits at its highest level since November 2021 under a Federal Labor Government.
Hiring has failed to keep pace with a surge in the size of the workforce, which is growing rapidly due to a post-pandemic rebound in net overseas migration.
Newspoll research shows that consumers are concerned about the economy and where it is going.
Recently Australians have marked down Labor over its handling of the nation’s finances after a political dispute about public spending and high inflation, shifting more support to the Coalition on a key test of budget management new research shows.
The Resolve Political Monitor, conducted for Nine Media, by Resolve Strategic, confirms the pressure on households from the cost of living: with 56 per cent of voters expecting the national outlook to get worse over the year ahead.
Voters strongly favoured Dutton and the Coalition when asked to choose the leader and party they believed would do a better job managing the nation’s finances: 41 per cent chose the opposition and only 23 per cent chose Albanese and Labor.
With private sector activity slowing, it’s been revealed that both state Labor and Labor federal governments were responsible for a disproportionate share of job creation over the past year.
Of the 360,000 people who found work in the 12 months to May 2024, almost half were employed in publicly funded industries like health, education and government administration.
Private sector employers, by contrast, have gradually eased back on hiring workers according to the AFR.
Just 39 per cent of employers were either recruiting or had recruited in June, which was the lowest figure since the COVID-19 lockdown in September 2021, according to data from Jobs and Skills Australia.
