Australia job ads fall in August

Australian job advertisements slipped in August. This is because of the coronavirus spread from Sydney to Melbourne and Canberra. Mainly, the drop was also minor, when compared to the losses in the first stage of this pandemic. Job ads fell 2.5% in August from July. The labour market was recovering from a national pandemic lockdown, this had led to shutting down many industries for a month. And this time, nearly half the population are under some kind of restriction.

ANZ senior economist Catherine Birch said that the ads have been more resilient this time. Nearly, 3.7% fall over the past two months. This is low when compared with the 64% plunge last year. In a positive sign, Victoria’s new job ads rebounded in July following the state’s fourth lockdown. This provides evidence that job ads and employment should recover quickly. The jobless rate has fallen by much more than expected rate. Last year mostly it was due to people being unable to look for work.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is seeking to drive unemployment down to 4% or even lower. The central bank holds its September policy meeting, amid speculation it may delay a planned tapering of its bond buying programme due to the economic impact of the lockdowns.