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Australian Jobs Report Yields Little More Than Volatility
Written by article default Thursday, 11 November 2010 09:34
Australian Employment figures offered a mixed bag of outcomes. The report showed the economy added 29,700 jobs in October, topping economists’ forecasts for a 20,000 increase. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate unexpectedly ticked higher to 5.4 percent, albeit likely because improving labor market conditions brought an inflow of discouraged workers back into the labor force considering the Participation Rate ticked up to 65.9 percent, the highest on record.In a somewhat worrisome development, this inflow was channeled into part-time employment whereas full-time positions were cut, which certainly does not exude confidence firms’ confidence about future demand prospects. That said, one month of data can hardly be called conclusive and traders will need to see how these trends evolve over time to draw firm conclusions.
Australian Dollar price action following the release mirrored the conflicting cues therein, with the currency initially tumbling as the higher jobless rate number crossed the wires but promptly recovering toward the middle of the range that had prevailed over the preceding 24 hours, yielding a net flat result.
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