Unemployment increased to 5.2% in June, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Since May, the total number of jobs fell by 27,000 or 0.2% to 11,500,500. The unemployment rate lifted just 0.1 percentage point to 5.2%.
Economists had largely expected the increase.
According to the figures, the rise was due to a decrease in full-time employment, down 33,500 to 8,065,500.
After the figures were released, the Australian dollar dropped to $US1.02.
Myer set to cut 100 jobs
Myer is expected to cut 100 jobs from its business, as the retail industry continues to shed jobs as it continues to suffer under poor consumer confidence.
The news comes after videogame retailer Game shut down with 500 jobs lost, while earlier this week confectionery retailer Darrell Lea announced it had been placed in voluntary administration with 700 jobs on the line.
According to Business Spectator, the cuts will be announced soon, with the reductions to be announced as part of an adjustment in its cost structure.
The publication claims customer services and brand development won’t be affected by the announcement, and neither will the company’s plans to improve its online retailing.
Shares fall after weak offshore leads, unemployment data
The Australian sharemarket has fallen this morning after a weak offshore lead when the US Fed said it would consider more stimulus.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 22.7 points or 0.6% to 4073.8 at 12.00 AEST, while the dollar fell after unemployment data dropped to $US1.02.
In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48 points or 0.4% to 12,604.
Dollar falls after employment data
The Australian dollar fell more than a third of a US cent following the release of data which showed a rise in the unemployment rate rose to 5.2%, from 5.1%.
Economists had expected employment to remain flat in the month.
After the data was released the Australian dollar was trading at 102.03 US cents, down from 102.40 US cents shortly before the data was released.
ASIC outlines proposals for winding up companies
The Australian and Securities Investment Commission has released a consultation paper outlining how it intends to implement its new power to wind up abandoned companies to enable greater access to the General Employee Entitlements Redundancy Scheme .
‘When using this power, our first consideration will be if an order to wind up the company would facilitate employee access to GEERS’, Commissioner John Price said.
ASIC proposes applying a public interest test when deciding whether to wind up a company. This public interest test will consider factors like the cost of winding up, the amount of outstanding employee entitlements and how many employees are affected.
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