Economy
Following the Reserve Bank meeting in March 2024, the cash rate remained unchanged at 4.35
per cent.
Inflation continued to moderate as the headline monthly CPI indicator was
steady at 3.4 per cent over the year to January, with momentum easing over
recent months. Services inflation remains elevated and is moderating at a more gradual pace.
While there are encouraging signs, the economic outlook remains uncertain. The December quarter national accounts data confirmed growth has slowed. Household consumption growth remains particularly weak amid high inflation and the rise in interest rates. The central forecasts are for inflation to return to the target range of 2-3 per cent in 2025, and to the midpoint in 2026.
According to the ABS, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Australia fell by 0.4 percentage points to 3.7 per cent in February, with growing by around 116,500 people, and the number of unemployed falling by 52,000 people. This was around where it had been six months earlier.
The large increase in employment in February followed larger-than-usual numbers of people in December and January who had a job that they were waiting to start or to return to.
The participation rate in Victoria saw 0.3 percentage points increase to 67.3 per cent while the unemployment rate stayed at 3.9 per cent in February 2024.
