Employment report for December from the Australian Bureau of Statistics
Employment Change for December: -1 K This is the 'headline' ... barely changed on the month
- expected -10K, prior +74.9K, revised from+71.4K
Unemployment Rate: 5.8%
- expected 5.9%, prior 5.9%, revised from 5.8%
Full Time Employment Change +17.6K
- prior was 47.3K, revised from 41.6K
Part Time Employment Change -18.5K
- prior was 27.6K, revised from 29.7K
Participation Rate 65.1%
- expected is 65.2%, prior was 65.3%
I did a quick preview here
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While the headline is barely changed on the month its better than expected, which is quite positive given the prior two reports have shown enormous job gains. This is another strong data point for employment in Australia.
The details of the full-time / part-time split is also very positive
And ... it doesn't stop .... the previous month's revisions are stronger too
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Each time we see strong employment data from Australia the suspicion and questions begins immediately. Some questioning of data is always healthy, but take careful note that when the data is poor the questions are much less ... this, ladies and gentlemen, is an indication of bias. Bias is natural, but it pays to be aware of it, so I thought I'd point it out.
And, remember, the focus is on assessing the price response to the data.
Which, as I update has been a short-lived pop for the AUD and its back near session lows now.
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Anyway, another strong report today.
The 'trend' data is good:
