Australia’s Job Growth Data Revised

Australia’s record jobs growth in August was too good to believe.  The statistics bureau today said it will drop the widely watched seasonally adjusted figure, which showed the nation of 23 million people added 121,000 jobs in August, in favor of its raw data, which showed 32,100 started work.

“No one believed the outsized August report,” said Annette Beacher, head of Asia-Pacific research at TD Securities in Singapore. “But there is still a clear picture of an improving labor market.”

Large swings in employment data are making it difficult for policy makers and investors to gauge the strength of the economy, with central bank Governor Glenn Stevens yesterday describing the figures as “unusually volatile.” The jump in August jobs followed a surge in seasonally adjusted unemployment to a 12-year high of 6.4 percent in July.

Bloomberg

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