Business News
Australia's jobless rate steady at 5 per cent
Mar 10, 2011, 6:58 GMT
Sydney - The Australian unemployment rate held steady at 5 per cent in February, as the loss of more than 10,000 jobs was offset by a drop in the number looking for work, officials said Thursday.
Nearly 48,000 full-time positions were created, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. But the overall drop in job numbers - the first in 18 months - was mainly due to the loss of almost 58,000 part-time positions, the report said.
Economists were divided over the significance of the snapshot, with some saying job creation was faltering and others pointing to the likely conversion of some part-time jobs into full-time positions.
Commonwealth Bank economist James McIntyre said shortening job queues meant employers would have to pay more for labour and that this would drive up inflation and the likelihood of another rate rise.
'We could see (wage increases) feeding through to inflation pressures later in the year and that could be troubling,' McIntyre said.
The cost of borrowing is currently 4.75 per cent. McIntyre said he expected a 25-basis-point rate rise to 5 per cent in May.
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