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The unemployment rate has fallen 0.1 per cent to 5.7 per cent in November, bolstering views that the Reserve Bank will raise rates when they meet again in February.
NAB’s chief economist Alan Oster told Mortgage Business he expects rates to increase in February and March on the back of improved confidence and the lower than expected unemployment rate.
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“It is my opinion that the Reserve Bank will raise rates five consecutive times and then keep them on hold to see what happens to consumer confidence,” Mr Oster said.
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the male unemployment rate decreased 0.1 pt to 5.8 per cent and the female unemployment rate decreased 0.1 pt to 5.5 per cent.
While the participation rate decreased slightly across the month of November to 65.2 per cent, aggregate monthly hours worked increased 13.4 million hours or 0.9 per cent.
