2019.07.0723:10:00UTC+00Australia's Job Ads Grow Most Since Early 2018

Australia's job ads grew the most since early 2018 in June after the Holiday-year effect' in late April and the timing of the election weighed on activity in May, data from ANZ showed Monday.

Job ads grew by a seasonally adjusted 4.6 percent on month in June, reversing a decline of 8.2 percent in May. The increase was the biggest since January 2018.

The subsequent jump in job ads in June after falling in May represents only a partial recovery from that weakness, suggesting that the overall trend is still downwards, ANZ's head of Australian economics, David Plank, said. "This points to slowing employment growth and rising unemployment. If confirmed by the actual employment data, then the RBA will likely react by lowering the cash rate yet again," Plank added. On a yearly basis, job ads fell 9.1 percent in June, but slower than the 14.9 percent decrease in May.