Unemployment is expected to pick back up to 3.9 per cent from 3.7 per cent in February, but estimates are as high as 4.2 per cent and a reading that high would once again see rate cut expectations adjusted, writes Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro,
Jobless figures will be revealed at 11.30am in Sydney.
After hitting a two-year high of 4.1 per cent in January, Australia’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.7 per cent in February.
“The reason for this jump in employment despite a continuous economic crush on Australian business is sensible; anyone offered a job in the last two months of 2023 or the very start of this year all headed into the office at approximately the same time,” Gilbert says.
Such fluctuations distort longer-term trends, Gilbert says the RBA would be sensible to look at this jump critically before allowing it to influence rate decisions.
A weak unemployment figure this month could be a significant factor in pushing rate cuts even further back on the calendar, Gilbert says
