Tag: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Australian Job Market Still Remains Strong Despite Job Ads Stabilising

Australian job advertising has slowed down after reaching record highs earlier in 2022. However, the current trend shows that demand for workers still remains robust. ANZ Australian Job Ads climbed slightly by 0.4 percent in May to 238,178 following a two percent drop in April. Nevertheless, the figure was up 17.3 percent from the previous…


Australian Economy Expands in March Quarter Despite COVID-19 and Flood Crisis

The Australian economy recorded marginal growth in the first quarter of 2022, even though the country suffered from the impacts of the flood crisis and the COVID-19 Omicron variant. According to the March quarter national accounts, the economy expanded by 0.8 percent, a far cry from the revised 3.6 percent growth in the December quarter….


Pessimistic Consumer Sentiment Unaffected by Australian Federal Election Results

Australian consumer confidence has almost remained unchanged in the wake of a new Labor government as the country is wrestling with interest rate hikes, ballooning inflation and rising living cost pressures. The latest weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence survey showed how Australian consumers reacted to the federal election results, where Labor has gained 77 seats…


Living Cost Pressures Intensify As Signs of Weak Economic Growth Spotted

Australian households should be prepared for further hikes in living costs as the economy showed the first signs of slowing growth in the first quarter of 2022. According to a survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in May, over one-third of local businesses (38 percent) were expected to raise prices by more than usual….


Labor to Inherit a Better Budget than Predicted: Standard & Poor’s

Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has said that the federal budget to be passed down to the incoming Labor government is in better condition than previously forecast. In addition, it said that Australia’s AAA rating and its stable outlook would remain unchanged despite the new government taking office. This comes after Prime…


Australian Jobless Rate to Steadily Fall to ‘Low Threes’: Job Ads Report Suggests

New job advertising data indicated that Australia’s unemployment rate was likely to stay in the “low threes” until the end of 2022. According to an ANZ report, the average total number of job ads in Australia rose 0.4 percent to 245,891 in March after experiencing a 10.9 percent growth in February. The report noted that…


Australian Parents Move Away From Public School System as Pandemic Reveals Education Quality Gap

Australian parents have turned away from public schools during the pandemic, flocking to private schools with higher educational standards and faith-based schools with stronger values and beliefs. Private schools have seen a 6.1 percent increase in enrolments between 2019 and 2021, compared with 2.2 percent for Catholic schools and 1 percent for government schools, according to…


Australian Construction Activity Across Summer Suppressed by Omicron

The disruptions from Omicron caused a contraction in the construction industry during the summer holidays, reversing the November recovery, according to the Australian Performance of Construction Index. The index fell 11.1 points to 45.9 in December and January, where readings below 50 indicate a contraction in activity, with lower results meaning a faster contraction. The…


Australian Inflation Exceeds Expectations, Increases Pressure on Rate Hike

Australia’s annual inflation rate has smashed market expectations, rising 3.5 percent in 2021, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The underlying inflation rate also jumped to its highest level since 2014, at 2.6 percent, reflecting the broad level of price increases. The annual CPI (consumer price index) inflation jumped on…


Australia Starts Off Year With Dampened Consumer Confidence

Australia’s consumer confidence has taken a small hit across the country following the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The weekly ANZ Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating dropped by 2.4 points for the first week of the year, a week that usually sees a rise. Consumer confidence fell particularly hard in South Australia…