The unemployment rate rose from 3.5% to 3.7% in January, the highest it has been since the Reserve Bank started its nine-month run of interest rate hikes last May. The BetaShares economist David Bassanese says the labour figures, weak retail sales and slumping consumer confidence suggest the economy “may be beginning to finally buckle under the weight of interest rate increases”.
Jim Chalmers was more forthright in his assessment, warning of a “really difficult year” ahead for Australians and the economy. “When the economy slows, when the unemployment rate picks up even if it still remains at or near historic lows, there are human consequences,” the treasurer said.
