Updated May 04, 2015 12:38:33Building approvals and job ads have both risen, offering signs of stren...

1. Building approvals, job ads rise in positive economic signs
Updated May 04, 2015 12:38:33
Building approvals and job ads have both risen, offering signs of strength in Australia's economy
ahead of tomorrow's interest rate decision.
Australia's housing sector has been running hot, with auction clearance rates in the biggest markets
of Sydney and Melbourne remaining elevated and price growth continuing apace, led by Sydney.
Bureau of Statistics figures show that strength is still feeding through to dwelling approvals, which
jumped another 2.8 per cent in March to 19,419, seasonally adjusted.
Approvals are now up 23.6 per cent over the past year.
Both the monthly and annual gains have been driven by apartment developments, with that segment
growing 5.3 per cent in March and 59.2 per cent over the past year, while detached house approvals
are up 1.1 and 1.6 per cent over those periods respectively.
The trend towards new apartments comes despite, and is probably the cause of, price growth being
slower for that dwelling type than it has been for detached houses.
The Housing Industry Association's Shane Garrett said the figure is another record for building
approvals.
"New home building continues to benefit from the exceptionally low level of interest rates, as well as
strong population growth over recent years in the key home buyer age group," he said in a
statement.
"New home building is keeping domestic demand above the waterline. Were it not for the
performance of the residential construction industry, Australia's economy would be in a far weaker
state."
The number of dwelling approvals, in more stable trend terms, jumped 4.4 per cent in New South
Wales, 3.3 per cent in Tasmania, 3 per cent in Queensland and 1.2 per cent in Victoria.
However, dwelling approvals fell 1.7 per cent in South Australia, 1.9 per cent in Western Australia,
3.8 per cent in the ACT and a steep 3.8 in the Northern Territory.
ANZ's widely-watched survey of job advertisements showed a 2.3 per cent rise in April, a bounce
back after the first fall in ten months in March.
In more stable trend terms, which smooth out monthly volatility, job ads have been heading higher
for 18 months, although the pace of growth has been slowing.
ANZ's chief economist Warren Hogan said that job ads are now at their highest level in two-and-
a-half-years.

2. "This positive result is consistent with recent employment data," he observed.
"The release of the March labour force survey contained revisions which increased employment and
lowered the unemployment rate, painting a better overall picture of the labour market."
However, Warren Hogan said the jobless rate, which sat at 6.1 per cent in March, remains
stubbornly above where the number of job ads suggest it should be.
"We believe this divergence is partly due to a high level of job losses in particular sectors, which
suggests that job ads may be a more appropriate indicator of labour demand in the non-mining, non-
manufacturing sectors at present," he explained.
"Retrenchments and strong growth in part-time labour supply may also be driving a reduction in the
ability of the labour market to match jobs with workers."
The latest official ABS employment figures come out on Thursday and are expected to show
unemployment ticking back up to 6.2 per cent, according to a survey of economists by Bloomberg.
Topics: economic-trends, money-and-monetary-policy, unemployment, housing-industry, australia
First posted May 04, 2015 12:27:32
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-05-04/building-approvals-job-ads-rise-positive-economic/6442824