The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released its March labour force report, which was steady as she goes.
There were 32,230 jobs created over the month, below economists’ expectations of a 40,000 increase.
The national unemployment rate remained fairly steady at 4.1% thanks to a slight increase in the participation rate. The underemployment rate was also flat.
However, the number of hours worked fell by 0.3% and it has been falling for three consecutive months.
Australia’s unemployment rate continues to track in line with RBA expectations.
This release won’t influence the RBA’s interest rate decision one way or another.
The decision to cut rates or not will hinge on the Q1 quarterly CPI, scheduled for release at the end of the month, alongside external factors.
