CommSec: Unemployment rate is a good indicator of job market health

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Labour force The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9 per cent in June. The participation rate edged up from 65.5 per cent to 65.6 per cent. The working age population

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CommSec: extended retail slump; building approvals rebound

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Building Approvals; Retail trade Council approvals to build new homes rose by 9.1 per cent in March after sliding by a revised 5.3 per cent in the prior month. In

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Jobs up, but slowdown clear over time

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Labour force Employment rebounded in March, lifting by 37,800 people. Economists had tipped job gains of 20,000 (range from +5,000 to +30,000 jobs). The February result was revised to show job

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Biggest fall in jobs in 18 months

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Labour force Employment fell by 10,100 people in February – the biggest decline in 18 months (since August 2009). Economists had tipped job gains of 20,000 (range from -10,000 to

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Petrol at 29-month highs and rising

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Weekly Petrol; Job Ads; Performance of Construction According to the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the national average Australian price of unleaded petrol rose by 2.9 cents per litre to 139.2

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Investor Signposts: Week Beginning March 6 2011

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The big picture The Reserve Bank Governor isn’t one to gloat. But you can certainly sense from the latest interest rate decision that Glenn Stevens is pretty pleased with the

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Frugal shoppers stay home with a good book

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Retail trade; Job advertisements; Performance of Construction Weak consumer spending. Retail spending grew by just 0.2 per cent in December, below expectations centred on a rise of 0.5 per cent.

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Employment slows: A case of lies, damned lies and statistics?

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Labour force Employment rose by just 2,300 people in December, well below forecasts centred on job gains of around 25,000 (range from +10,000 to +40,000 jobs). The November result was

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Almost 250,000 families hit by unemployment

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Labour market statistics New figures raise questions about how tight the job market really is. As at June 2010 there were almost a quarter of a million families (244,900) where

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