FED: Aust leading employment indicator falls in February

AAP General News (Australia)
04-07-1999
FED: Aust leading employment indicator falls in February

The federal government says a leading Australian jobs indicator fell in February for the
ninth consecutive month.

The Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business leading indicator of
employment fell to a value of 0.04 in February, compared to a value of 0.12 the previous
month.

The department says the fall was largely due to a fall in Australian Bureau of Statistics
job vacancies in the three months to February.

The indicator is based on seasonally adjusted data from six components including ABS and
ANZ vacancies, vehicle registrations, dwelling approvals, the skilled vacancy survey and GDP.

It is designed to give advance warning of turning points in cyclical employment, with the
average lead time around eight months.

The indicator comes ahead of the release of jobs data for March on Thursday, with
economists expecting the unemployment rate to rise to 7.5 per cent, seasonally adjusted.

AAP RTV rmm/mfh/nd/jn

KEYWORD: JOBS (CANBERRA)

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