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The upbeat back-dated data of decrease in unemployment to a 12-year low seems to have been outweighed by the gloomy COVID-19 pandemic situation in the country – especially in the financial hub of Sydney.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, unemployment in the country reduced by 30 basis points in the month of July to 4.6% -- the lowest level seen in the past 12 years.
During the month, the number of unemployed people decreased by 39,900 to 639,200.
“In each of these instances, the unemployment rate also fell. Falls in unemployment and the unemployment rate may be counter-intuitive, given they have coincided with falls in employment and hours, but reflect the limited ability for people to actively look for work and be available for work during lockdowns. This means that people are falling out of the labour force,” said Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS.
With the fall in unemployment, there was 20 basis points decrease in the labour force participation as well.
But despite this positive set of data, the Australian markets continued to remain in the negative territory. The benchmark ASX200 was 0.61% down at the time of filing this copy. Materials and energy sectors were tumbling, down 3.52% and 2.22% respectively.
The market sentiment is dampened as the second wave of COVID-19 continues unabated in the country. The country reported 747 cases yesterday, with the daily cases in New South Wales slated to go over 1,000 in the coming fortnight. On a sequential weekly basis, fresh infections in Australia have jumped 48%.
So, even if the back-dated data on employment might be an upbeat one, the current numbers are worrying enough for investors to ignore.
