AUD is not too bothered by the weaker than expected headline job data from Australia. 4.9k jobs were added in March, below expectation of 20.3k. Full time jobs dropped by 19.9k to 8.51m while part time jobs rose 24.8k to 3.9m. Total employment was at 12.484m.
Prior month’s figure was revised down from 17.5k to -6.3k. February now had the first monthly drop in employment since September 2016. The record streak of consecutive monthly job growth has shorted to 16 months.
Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 5.5%, after downward revision in February’s figure from 5.6% to 5.5%. However, labor force participation rate rose to 65.7%, sitting at a record high in since the series began back in 1978.
The figures just showed that growth in the Australian labor market is slowing after a very strong period since late 2016. .
AUD quickly regained some strength after initial dip as markets realized that the data is not a disaster.
