ABS explains what happened to the Labour Force data

Labour Force data in the previous few months has been a confusing subject (see our posts here and here). Seasonally adjusted data from the ABS had become so volatile that last month the ABS scrapped seasonal adjustment altogether for the past few months and announced a review into what had …read more

Retail Trade jumps but QLD lags behind as we ditch print

Today’s release of Retail Trade figures for Sept and the third quarter surprised on the upside due to strong growth in the electrical goods sector (being pegged to the release of the iPhone 6). Seasonally adjusted data showed retail trade rose 1.2% on the month and was up 1.0% for …read more

Master Builders data points to improvement

Although we have been, and continue to be, rather sceptical about the Master Builders Survey of Industry Conditions (largely because the forecast changes always seem either wildly optimistic, or horribly pessimistic) their most recent report for the Sept quarter (available for download here) shows actual business performance conditions (as opposed …read more

Building Approvals data shows the upswing is running out of steam

The upswing that we’ve been seeing in Building Approvals appears to be coming to a rather abrupt end. The data for Sept shows nationwide approvals fell by 11.0% for the month and by 13.4% for the year. However, these seasonally adjusted figures are often very “lumpy” because of the impact …read more

US grows at 3.5% annualised in Q3

Data released overnight in the US showed GDP growth at an annualised 3.5% in the September quarter (this compares with +4.6% ann in Q2 and -2.1% ann in Q1). Over the course of the past 12 months the US economy has expanded a real 2.3%. The result was somewhat stronger …read more

FNQ Councils ramp up opposition to proposed NDRRA changes

As we commented on at the time (see here) the Productivity Commission draft report into disaster relief funding contained some very worrying recommendations around NDRRA disaster funding. The proposed reduction in Federal assistance from 75% to 50% would result in a massive, and achievable, increase in the share of cash …read more

Fed confirm the end of QE3

As had been widely anticipated, the Fed have announced the ending of their bond-buying program (known as QE3) in the statement at the end of the 2 day FOMC meeting. While the announcement came as no surprise the general tone of the announcement from the FOMC has been seen as …read more

Cost of Living pressures falling fast

Despite the political rhetoric about how all us Aussies are doing it tough with cost of living pressures, the reality is rather different. The Cost of Living Indexes released this morning by the ABS are designed to answer the question “By how much would after tax money incomes need to …read more

Updated Small Area Labour Market graph

Our previous blog regarding the Dept of Employment Small Area Labour Market (SALM) data contained a graph showing the unemployment rate for the Cassowary Coast, Cairns and Townsville Local Government Areas. We had previously been tracking the aggregated unemployment rate for the CCRC using the “old” Statistical Local Area data …read more

Small Area Labour Market data for the Far North

Every quarter the Department of Employment produce their Small Area Labour Market (SALM) statistics. Following the changes to the ABS geographical standards this year the Dept have been struggling to put together the data for the March and June quarters of 2014. It’s been a long time waiting but today …read more

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