Research by the bank shows advertising has risen for four consecutive months, at an annualised rate of almost 30 per cent this period.
Chief economist Ivan Colhoun says historically labour demand indicates that interest rates will follow suit.“While the pace of improvement in job ads suggests that labour market conditions have only improved moderately at this stage and therefore do not suggest a rapid turnaround in the unemployment rate.
“The pick-up in hiring intentions suggests employment growth will continue to improve modestly in the near term and the unemployment rate should be close to a peak around six per cent or slightly lower,” he says.Internet ads increased 2.7 per cent, while newspaper ads declined by 11.8 per cent – attributed to the timing of Easter and ANZAC Day public holidays.
“Economic activity has continued to strengthen this year, with momentum in the housing sector continuing to drive prices higher, building approvals remaining on a solid uptrend and consumer spending generally strengthening.“This suggests that low interest rates are assisting the economy’s transition to non-mining sources of growth,” Colhoun says.
He says Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria have encouraging trends in advertising, accounting for three quarters of Australian GDP.Get our daily business news
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