Good house approvals cannot make up for falling units in QLD

The ABS data for building approvals in October were good news at a national level with (seasonally adjusted) approvals up 0.9% m/m for a 18.4% increase year-on-year. The less volatile (and preferred, given how volatile unit approvals can make this data set!) measure showed a 0.7% m/m increase and a …read more

Regional jobs show some reversal in the Far North

This morning’s release of the regional labour market data, as always, needs to be seen through the lens of the Conus Trend; and what it shows is something of a turn-around in the dramatic recovery that we’ve been witnessing in the North. This is perhaps not very surprising, although the …read more

Are all QLD’s new jobs due to public sector hiring?

As we run towards the last few days of the Queensland state election we’re hearing lots about employment from both the Government (who are talking up solid jobs growth) and the Opposition (who are highlighting weak full-time jobs). There is also a certain amount of talk from the commentariat about …read more

Pete talking QLD employment on 4CA

Pete spoke to John McCarthy on radio 4CA this morning about yesterday’s release of the labour force data which showed QLD’s unemployment rate (s.a) lifted to 6%. You can hear what he said below, or read yesterday’s blog here.

Mixed bag from the jobs report for QLD

The Labour Force data for October released this morning by the ABS showed employment up 3,700 (s.a) or 20,000 (Trend) for the nation with the headline, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dipping to 5.4% (the Trend remained stable at 5.5%). Participation fell slightly to 65.1 (from 65.2) and this will have …read more

In other news…Wages growth in QLD highest in 2 years

With most attention focused on the SSM results, the Wage Prices Index results for the Sept quarter were also announced this morning. Across the nation wages grew by 0.5% q/q for a y/y increase of 2.0% (up from 1.9% for the past few quarters but somewhat below the levels the …read more

Dept of Social Services data adds to list of positive news for employment in the region

Regular readers will be well aware that there are various ways to look at the labour market; the standard “unemployment rate” being just one of them. Another, less well known measure, is provided by way of the Dept of Social Services data in their monthly payment recipients release (available here). Their most …read more

Regional Building Approvals data weakens in the North

The regional building approvals data from the ABS, seen through the lens of the Conus Trend estimates, shows things slightly weaker in the North of QLD. In the Cairns SA4 region we see Trend approvals for Sept at 102, which is unchanged from a downwardly revised 107 last month. Within …read more

Digging into the SALM data….

Last week we posted on the latest Small Area Labour Market (SALM) data from the Dept of Employment as it related to the Local Government Areas of Cairns, Cassowary Coast and Townsville (see here). We have had time to do further work on the latest SALM release and can now …read more

Dept of Employment SALM data confirms the improvement in the North

After yesterday’s ABS regional jobs data (see here) showed continued improvement in the labour force measures in the Cairns and Townsville SA4 areas, today we get the Dept of Employment’s, much awaited, quarterly Small Area Labour Market (SALM) data for the second quarter which allows us to consider data at …read more

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