There was nothing in yesterday’s March jobs figures that would cause the Reserve Bank to change its mind on the future direction of interest rates.
And, as the bank has sent heavy signals that there are more rate rises to come to help control inflation in 2011 and 2012 as the resources boom gathers strength, then we will get more increases in the cash rate.
The unemployment rate was steady at 5.3% and 30,100 new jobs were created, with that gross figure trimmed by the loss of 10,600 part time positions, itself a natural development for a strengthening labour market.
That left a net gain of 19,600 jobs for the month, about what market forecasts had predicted.
February’s jobs figures was revised up to a gain of 4,700.
It was the seventh consecutive month Australia has seen a rise in the number of full-time jobs.
The number of people unemployed increased in March, up 4,200 people to 619,100, the ABS reported with a fall in the number of people looking for full time work offset by a larger rise in the number of people looking for part time employment.
The ABS seasonally adjusted monthly aggregate hours worked series showed a fall in March, down 10.0 million hours to 1,541.2 million hours.
That fall of 0.6% came after the very large 2.4% rise in February, which had been the biggest rise recorded.
The number of hours worked in march was still more than for any month in 2009.
The labour force grew 2.1% in the year to March.
And since August, Australian employers have added 214,900 jobs.
The steady unemployment rate compares to 9.7% in the US in March and 10% in February among European Union countries, the highest rate since August 1998.
In its November economic forecasts, the Federal Government said the unemployment rate would 6.5% in June.
That will be cut in the new forecasts that will accompany the 2010-11Federal Budget next month.
