Australian Aug jobs downbeat, mainly on part-time declines

Ivan Delgado Independent Analyst

Australia employment change s.a. came in at -3.9k in August, below forecasts of +15k and prior of 26.1k, with the unemployment rate s.a. at 5.6 % vs forecasts of 5.7% and 5.7% last. Fulltime employment stood at 11.5k vs previous -45.4 k, while part-time employment -15.4k from previous 71.6k. Participation rate was 64.7% vs prior of 64.9%.

AUGUST KEY POINTS

TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

Employment increased 9,900 to 11,965,100.
Unemployment decreased 400 to 721,000.
Unemployment rate remained steady at 5.7%.
Participation rate remained steady at 64.8%.
Monthly hours worked in all jobs increased 1.7 million hours to 1,657.1 million hours.

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE)

Employment decreased 3,900 to 11,963,700. Full-time employment increased 11,500 to 8,166,100 and part-time employment decreased 15,400 to 3,797,700.
Unemployment decreased 10,500 to 713,300. The number of unemployed persons looking for full-time work increased 14,900 to 496,900 and the number of unemployed persons only looking for part-time work decreased 25,400 to 216,400.
Unemployment rate decreased 0.1 pts to 5.6%.
Participation rate decreased 0.2 pts to 64.7%.
Monthly hours worked in all jobs decreased 3.9 million hours to 1,656.0 million hours.

Author

Ivan Delgado

Independent Analyst

Established in the Asian continent since 2009, Ivan studied a degree in Business at the University Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona), while also earning a postgraduate degree in Business Administration.

AUD/USD bulls regain control above 0.6950 amid USD retreat

AUD/USD regains traction and extends the previous day's bounce from the weekly low, aiming for 0.7000 in Asia on Friday. The overnight pullback in US bond yields keeps the US Dollar below an 18-month high, which in turn offers some support to the pair. Meanwhile, hawkish RBA expectations also keep the major underpinned.

USD/JPY holds gains near 158.00 after Japan's weak Household Spending data

USD/JPY clings to gains around 158.00 after data showed on Friday that Japan's Household Spending fell for the ninth straight month, undermining the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, the US Dollar remains depressed as the overnight fall in US bond yields counters a hawkish Fed and geopolitical uncertainties, could cap any downside in the pair.

Gold remains range-bound below $4,200

Gold has given up some ground after an initial bullish attempt to reach weekly highs, returning to below the $4,200 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The US Dollar’s strong upside momentum, combined with rising US Treasury yields across the curve, seems to keep further gains in the yellow metal under scrutiny.

Has Bitcoin really escaped the macro forces it was built to fight?

Over 17 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin (BTC) on the back of a global financial crisis as an alternative to the global monetary system outside the control of central banks, governments and traditional intermediaries. This raises a key question: has Bitcoin really become independent of the macroeconomic forces it was built to challenge?

The Euro is not the sick man of Europe. France's bond market is

EUR/USD remains under pressure, near the 17-month low of 1.1161 reached on Monday. The pair has lost more than 7% since its yearly peak, as concerns over France's public finances increasingly weigh on the single currency. But behind the weakness of the Euro (EUR), the problem does not necessarily lie with the European economy as a whole.