The unemployment rate in Australia remained at a 13-year low of 4.0% in March. Analysts had expected a further decline to 3.9%. Thus, the unemployment rate remains at the same level as in February.
However, with only 17.9k new jobs in March, the labor market remains tight. Analysts had hoped for an increase of 40k jobs after the 77.4k gain in February. This means that the number of jobs has increased by 338k in the last 12 months.
The change in full employment rose by 20.5k in March, following an increase of 121.9k in the previous month.
Westpac consumer sentiment for April, released yesterday, fell a further 0.9% month-on-month. This is the fifth consecutive decline following a rise in inflation, the potential for higher interest rates, and flooding on the East Coast.