Monday, February 12, 2024

Jobless likely to tick to 4 per cent; Commonwealth Bank to deliver another bumper profit in snapshot of broad economy health

Australia's unemployment rate is likely to tick slightly higher when official figures are released on Thursday.

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Economists predict the January jobless rate will come in at 4 per cent, up from 3.9 per cent in December, with around 30,000 new jobs created.

That's a bounceback from December when 65,000 positions were lost.

The marginal rise in unemployment comes as the impact of 13 interest rates rises since May 2022 continues to slow the economy.

Other key indicators this week will be an update on business confidence from the National Australia Bank and consumer sentiment from Westpac.

The company reporting season continues with profit updates from JB Hi Fi, the Commonwealth Bank, Telstra, Origin Energy and AMP.

Wall Street ended mainly higher at the week as investors snapped in technology stocks that could benefit from the boom in artificial intelligence.


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