CANBERRA: Australia’s unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed in January as full-time employment slumped by the most since 2013, reflecting waning stimulus from record-low interest rates and a weaker currency. The local dollar fell about one-third of a U.S. cent.
Employment has fallen after recording the biggest quarterly gain on record at the end of 2015. That surge drew renewed skepticism about the accuracy of labor force data, which the Australian Bureau of Statistics has acknowledged in the past.
The figures are “probably just a continuation of the data moving back to reality after the unbelievable strength late last year rather than a sign that the concerns over the global economy are giving Australian employers the jitters,” said Paul Dales, chief economist for Australia and New Zealand at Capital Economics. “A renewed and sustained deterioration in labor market conditions would bring rate cuts back onto the table.”
