A surprisingly strong employment gain of 76,300 jobs last month will keep the pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia to lift interest rates. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.4 per cent.

The jobs growth comes as more people look for work. The participation rate has turned up in recent months, and at 67 per cent is at a 12-month high. The employment to population rate is also rising. Broadly, the economy is doing a good job at finding work for people.

Yesterday’s Australian Bureau of Statistics numbers will certainly have the RBA on edge, especially since May growth was also revised higher. The board announces its next interest rate decision on August 11, and after yesterday’s data, it will be worried about wage pressures pushing up inflation.

All eyes will now be on next week’s June quarter consumer price index. It will make or break the case for an August interest rate increase.

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Greed-o-meter

With the opening weekend queues now gone, it might be a good time to catch The Odyssey at the cinema. The Christopher Nolan epic had quite the opening, making almost $US304 million worldwide. It's one of only 13 films made by the director - but he's had some huge successes. So how do the box office takings for The Odyssey (so far) stack up against the total haul for his other movies?

Source: The Australian, BoxOfficeMojo

Fear & Greed Q+A today

On whether Australia's mining sector has a PR problem, and whether the Queensland government's royalty taxes are going to stifle investment:

 

“Everybody understands taxation is part of doing business. The mining industry accepts that. The issue is fairness and recognising the balance between risk and reward. Mining is incredibly capital intensive. You can spend years exploring and only one project in a thousand will ultimately become a producing mine.

 

Queensland's arrangements have moved too far. The pendulum has swung too far towards heavy taxation, and what that's doing is making some of the biggest mining companies think twice about investing in Queensland rather than somewhere else internationally. Every investment dollar is competitive, and taxation is one of the biggest factors companies consider.”

News in brief

The local share market opened higher yesterday, pushing the S&P/ASX 200 past 8900 points for the first time in a month. But the employment data, and prospect of another rate hike, weighed on the bourse and it closed up just 0.2 per cent to 8839 points.

The ALP’s 50^th National Conference kicked off yesterday, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised increased spending on cost-of-living assistance. He also announced his support for a new workers’ court to provide a cheap and faster path to deal with underpayment matters and other industrial disputes, which is considered a win for unions.

Macquarie CEO Shemara Wikramanayake will step down from the top job in November and be replaced by the head of the group's banking and financial services business, Greg Ward.

Tesla sold more cars than ever last quarter and Australia is one of its top growth markets. But the Elon Musk company made fewer profits and that sent its share price lower.

South Korean prosecutors have sought a one-year jail term for the owner of a Michelin-starred restaurant accused of using ants as a dessert garnish.

Fear-o-meter

Betashares chief economist David Bassanese

At face value, [yesterday’s] surprisingly strong June employment gain of 76,300 suggests the labour market remains red-hot and the Reserve Bank needs to lift interest rates further.

Yet look beneath the surface and what’s apparent is that the gains in employment are supply driven, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.4 per cent. What’s impressive is the ability of the labour market to find jobs for the tens of thousands of Australians seeking one.

What’s driving the rise in participation? It could be that the supply upturn is demand led, with more Australians being enticed into work by still widely available job opportunities. But it could also reflect cost-of-living pressures forcing more Australians into the work force.

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