Australia: March’s labour force report was decent – RBC CM

Elsa Lignos, Global Head of FX Strategy at RBC Capital Markets, explains that Australia’s March labour force report was decent as the total employment rose 61k (cons: 20k), full-time employment rose 75k, and the revisions to February were also positive.

Key Quotes

“The unemployment rate was steady at 5.9% (~1y highs), as participation continues to recover. In terms of labour market slack, not much has really changed. A period of above-trend growth is needed for the unemployment rate to fall consistently, and even the RBA is not forecasting that to occur for another 18m at least.”

“The RBA’s semi-annual Financial Stability Review struck a cautious tone, noting that risks had increased within the household sector. This was to be expected given that two of its regulatory cousins have recently announced further actions to tighten regulation of mortgage lending.”