(Bloomberg) --
Australia’s unemployment rate fell further in March as strengthening sentiment combined with record low interest rates to accelerate the economy’s recovery and further boost hiring.
The jobless rate dropped to 5.6% from 5.8% in February versus economists’ median estimate of 5.7%, data from the statistics bureau showed Thursday in Sydney. Employment soared by 70,700 in March, double the expected 35,000 gain. The participation rate climbed to 66.3%, also exceeding economists forecast of 66.1%.
“Employment and hours worked in March 2021 were both higher than March 2020, up by 0.6% and 1.2%,” Bjorn Jarvis, head of labor statistics at the ABS, said in a statement. “The proportion of women employed was the highest it’s ever been.”
The Australian dollar jumped on the data before trading at 77.36 U.S. cents at 11:34 a.m. in Sydney.
The economy is booming Down Under with sentiment surging as cashed-up households are encouraged to spend and firms consider investing. That’s prompted increased hiring and Australians to resume job-hunting, swelling the labor force and further strengthening the economic outlook.
The Reserve Bank of Australia in February doubled its quantitative easing program to A$200 billion ($155 billion) and reiterated that it doesn’t expect to increase interest rates until 2024 at the earliest. Governor Philip Lowe, in a speech last month, said the economy could probably manage unemployment in the low 4s, or potentially even the 3s, before stoking inflation.
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