Australian employment soared for a third straight month as companies added six times more jobs than economists estimated. The nation's currency rose as traders bet the central bank will keep raising interest rates next year, the Bloomberg reported.
The number of people employed gained 31,200 in November from October and the jobless rate fell to 5.7 percent from 5.8 percent, the statistics bureau said in Sydney Thursday.
Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens raised the benchmark interest rate Dec. 1 for an unprecedented third straight month and said this week the economy is stronger than he previously forecast. Mining companies including BHP Billiton Ltd. are taking on more workers as they increase iron-ore production to satisfy China's demand for steel.
"It looks increasingly like the unemployment rate’s going to top out a little bit below 6 percent," said David Forrester, a currency economist at Barclays Capital in Singapore. "That may pressure the RBA to move a little bit faster on rates."
The local currency has risen 40 percent in the past 12 months, the most among the 16 major currencies tracked by Bloomberg. The Australian dollar carry trade, in which investors borrow yen, Swiss francs and U.S. dollars to invest in higher yielding assets, is helping stoke the nation's currency, central bank official Guy Debelle said.
"The Australian dollar carry trade now again appears to be back in vogue," the Reserve Bank assistant governor said in Sydney today. "The Australian interest-rate differential remains relatively high compared to most other major currency pairs."
Australia's economy shows signs of strengthening, helped by a surge in business confidence last month to the highest level in more than seven years, and increased Asian demand for iron ore, coal and gas.
Chevron Corp. said Dec. 5 it has signed an agreement with Japan's Tokyo Electric Power Co. to supply liquefied natural gas from its Wheatstone venture in Western Australia, a deal the Australian government values at A$90 billion ($82 billion). The project is forecast to generate 6,500 jobs during construction.
It is in addition to the Chevron-led Gorgon gas venture, which is forecast to create another 10,000 jobs when construction starts early next year. Qantas Airways Ltd.'s low- cost carrier Jetstar is also taking on more workers.
The number of full-time jobs gained 30,800 in November and part-time employment increased 300, today’s report showed. Employers have added 99,500 new jobs in the past three months. The median estimate of 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for an increase of 5,000 jobs in November.
BHP and Rio Tinto Group boosted iron-ore production to a record in the third quarter to satisfy Chinese demand for steel, which helped exports surge 5 percent in September.
The labor market in "the mining sector is pretty much back to capacity," Governor Stevens told economists in Sydney on Dec. 8. "There are a lot of other countries in the world who would like to have that problem."
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