Data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that last month the unemployment rate in Australia was 4.1%, confirming experts' forecasts and remaining unchanged compared to September. Meanwhile, the number of people employed rose by 15,900 after an increase of 61,300 in September (revised from 64,100). This was the 7th consecutive monthly increase, but the weakest in this sequence. Consensus estimates suggested employment growth of 25,000. Full-time employment increased by 9,700 to 10,037,700 people, while part-time employment increased by 6,200 to 4,499,800 people. The participation rate was 67.1%, shy of expectations for 67.2% - which would have been unchanged.
In general, the latest data indicated that the Central Bank of Australia does not particularly need to rush to ease monetary policy. Currently, market participants believe that the RBA's first interest rate cut is likely to occur in May or July next year. The RBA has held its policy steady for a year now, judging the current cash rate of 4.35% is restrictive enough to bring inflation to its target band of 2-3% while preserving employment gains.