Aust. unemployment may have bottomed out—survey

Press, 13 January 1987, Page 26

Aust. unemployment may have bottomed out—survey

NZPA-AAP Sydney Unemployment • may have bottomed out, according to an ANZ Bank survey of job advertisements which shows Brisbane and Sydney are the only capital cities in Australia to record increased job opportunities. The bank’s Employment Advertisement Series fell by only 0.8 per cent in the December quarter after adjustment for seasonal factors, a statement said. The series measures the total average number of iob advertisements in

metropolitan daily newspapers. After large falls in the middle of 1986 the number of advertisements stabilised towards the end of the year, with a fall of 0.8 per cent in the December quarter over all compared with a decrease of nearly 7 per cent in the September quarter. The ANZ’s chief economist, Dr Bob Edgar, said the connection between the Employment Advertisement Series and unemployment figures in any particular month was not necessarily close, but

in the longer term the series indicated trends. Movements in the advertisement series usually were reflected in official employment statistics after a lag of two quarters. ■ - . - .

“The latest figures suggest unemployment has bottomed out and indicate the labour market is becoming increasingly stable,” Dr Edgar said.

The biggest rise in the number of jobs advertised during the December quarter was .in Brisbane, wflere the “Courier Mail” carried a seasonally-ad-

justed weekly average of 2434 advertisements, up 11.5 per -cent on the September quarter figure. The “Sydney Morning Herald” average of 8871 in the latest quarter was a rise of 0.2 per cent on September. But all other capital city newspapers registered falls. i

“The Age” in Melbourne carried a December quarter average of 8428, down 3.6 per cent on the September figure, while. “The West AustealiaCLin Perth measured an average 2840, down J. 9 per cent from September.