ECONOMISTS are split on whether the latest jobless data will pressure the Reserve Bank into raising the cash rate in April.
The unemployment rate was a seasonally adjusted 5.3 per cent in February, compared with an downwardly revised 5.2 per cent in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
Read more about the unemployment rate at news.com.au.
HOMEOWNERS will pay more on their mortgages after the Reserve Bank increased its cash rate for the first time this year.
The official cash rate was increased from 3.75 per cent to 4 per cent today.
The hike in the official rate will add about $50 a month to a $300,000, 25-year home, according to research company Canstar Cannex.
Read more about interest rates at news.com.au.
THE Australian economy continues to power along with another shock drop in the unemployment rate.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell by 0.2 percentage points as 52,700 new jobs - mainly part-time - were created in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today.
This is the largest rise in employment since December 2006.
Read more about the unemployment rate at news.com.au.
THE Reserve Bank board has surprised the market, and left home owners relieved, by leaving its official interest rate on hold today. The market had expected that the Reserve Bank would increase its rate by 25 basis points.
Read more about interest rates at news.com.au.
THE jobless rate has fallen to 5.7 per cent with the number of employed people increasing by an unexpected 31,200 in November, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show.
Read more about the unemployment rate at news.com.au.
This story also features an interactive chart comparing Australia’s unemployment rate to other developed nations.
