Deloitte joins RBA in tipping 4.5% Australian jobless rate thanks to slow consumer spending

Australian shoppers are thinking twice before they buy, putting pressure on the country’s jobless rate, says Deloitte Access Economics. Photograph: Amer Ghazzal/Rex/Shutterstock

Australia’s dream run with near record low unemployment is tipped to end due to weaker household consumption, with the jobless rate expected to increase from 3.7% to 4.5% by mid next year.

That is the conclusion of the latest Deloitte Access Economics employment forecasts, which attribute economic slowdown in part to the delayed effect of faster-than-expected rate rises by the Reserve Bank of Australia.