Australia’s highly anticipated May jobs report is out and smashed expectation as follows, sending the Aussie higher in its correction vs the Fed-hardened greenback:
- Australia May Employment +115.2k s/adj (Reuters poll: +30.0k).
- Australia May Unemployment Rate +5.1 pct, s/adj (Reuters poll: +5.5).
- Australia may Full Time Employment +97.5k s/adj.
- Australia May Participation Rate +66.2 pct, s/adj (Reuters poll: +66.1 pct).
The main domestic news event for the Aussie has been jobs data for the month of May, albeit it has been somewhat diluted by the surprise hawkish tilt at the Federal Reserve.
Nevertheless, this will be especially important as it will be the last key release before the 9 July Reserve Bank of Australia meeting and the Aussie has rallied 0.25% off the bat so far, some 20 pips higher.
Markets will be looking for changes to the shape and possibly size of the QE after this very strong headline print and a drop in the Unemployment Rate that could lead to a less dovish RBA and a brighter inflation outlook for the second quarter after the underwhelming first quarter print.
Earlier today, RBA’s governor Phillip Lowe was speaking:
RBA Lowe: Aussie economy needs stimulus
The Unemployment Rate released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labour force.
If the rate hikes, indicates a lack of expansion within the Australian labour market. As a result, a rise leads to weaken the Australian economy. A decrease of the figure is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while an increase is seen as negative (or bearish).
