Australia will release March labour-market data on 16 April. A moderate job creation of 15,500 jobs is expected, following 15,600 created in February.
The unemployment and participation rates likely remained unchanged at 6.3% and 64.8%, respectively. Business confidence dropped below the neutral level of zero in February for the first time in 19 months; consumer confidence followed suit in March.
"We expect the labour market to stay soft for the next few months as businesses remain reluctant to invest, despite low interest rates. The central bank cited falling business capex, and subsequently weak domestic demand, as a concern at its April monetary policy meeting. We expect the unemployment rate to remain high in the medium term",Says Standard Chartered
