Australia’s Slump in Job Seekers to Spur March Hike, BE Says

Australia’s central bank is set to deliver back-to-back interest-rate increases on Tuesday driven by the war in Iran and a deterioration in the economy’s supply of workers, according to James McIntyre at Bloomberg Economics.

A 60 basis-point drop in the labor market participation rate over the past year has masked a sharp slowdown in jobs growth, McIntyre, who covers Australia for Bloomberg Economics, said in a research note. He reckons unemployment would be closer to 5% — versus 4.1% now — if participation had held steady.