Australia: Election to have boosted employment in May - ANZ

Catherine Birch, analyst at ANZ, expects Australian employment to have risen by 35,000 positions in May, pushing the unemployment rate back to 5.1%.

Key Quotes

“The federal election should have provided a significant boost to employment during the month, if historical trends held. The unemployment rate has also tended to fall during election months. However, the backdrop of deteriorating leading indicators of employment, as well as the holiday period in April, may have tempered employment gains.”

“The RBA will “continue to monitor developments in the labour market closely,” but with the May figures likely to have been distorted, we think it will look through the data.”