Australian Unemployment Likely to Rise As Hiring Slows

From the Sydney Morning Herald:

Employment growth is tipped to slow from its already sluggish pace in the coming months, as businesses continue to shy away from hiring new staff.

The ANZ Bank yesterday (10 Oct. 2011) said the number of job advertisements fell 2.1% in September, the third monthly fall in a row and the sharpest drop since May.

Economists say the drop points to further softening in the labour market, especially outside of mining, a possible rise in Australian unemployment.

According to ANZ, job ads have fallen in five of the last six months, but the decline has been gradual compared with previous falls.

The head of Australian economics and property research at ANZ, Ivan Colhoun, said the slump was more like the gradual labour market slowdown of 1995-96 than the sharp drop in ads experienced in the global financial crisis.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/unemployment-likely-to-rise-as-companies-put-the-brakes-on-hiring-20111010-1lhgk.html#ixzz1aPFblCmH