Australia’s jobless rate is tipped to hit its lowest level since 1974 when the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases its June labour force survey on Thursday.
CBA Group economists expect around 25,000 jobs to be added in the month, with the unemployment rate easing from 3.9 per cent to 3.8 per cent. NAB economists say the participation rate should be sustained at 66.7 per cent.
They will be the headline numbers, but the week will also bring further insights into the state of the economy amid surging inflation and a volatile stockmarket.
The Commonwealth Bank’s household spending intentions index for June will be released on Tuesday, alongside the ABS’s household spending indicator for May.
Also on Tuesday, the latest consumer confidence data will be released by ANZ-Roy Morgan and the Westpac-Melbourne Institute.
The National Australia Bank will issue its June business survey featuring updates on confidence and conditions on Tuesday.
Confidence droops
Confidence and conditions eased in May, but remain above their long-run averages with employment conditions hitting a 10-month high.
Economists will be examining the ABS’s March quarter building activity report on Wednesday for the latest indications of dwelling starts and “work yet to be done” estimates.
Australian shares had their best week in more than three months last week, with commodity prices rebounding.
They closed higher on Friday, with the benchmark Australian shares index posting a weekly gain of 2.1 per cent.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.5 per cent higher on Friday, adding to the 0.8 per cent rise it posted on Thursday.
The S&P 500 lost 3.44 points, or 0.09 per cent, to end at 3899.18 points, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 13.91 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 11,633.81 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54.47 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 31,330.08.
-AAP
