Australia: Employment deteriorates sharply as business conditions weaken – ANZ

Catherine Birch, senior economist at ANZ, points out that the Australian business conditions fell to 3.1 in April to move back below the long-run average.

Key Quotes

“Most sub-indices deteriorated, although there were slight upticks in business confidence and capacity utilisation. The employment index fell to its lowest level since 2015, though it is still consistent with continued (though slower) jobs growth.”

“Conditions fell sharply in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia; Victoria saw a smaller fall. In contrast, conditions jumped up in Tasmania and South Australia. Conditions in New South Wales and Victoria remain slightly above their long-run average.”

“Mining was the only industry to see a monthly improvement in conditions, which remain well above their long-run average. Business conditions in manufacturing are also above their long-run average, but all other industries are significantly below average.”