Australian employment slides in August

Taking a hit: A pedestrian is reflected in the RBA’s signage at the central bank’s building in Sydney. The bank cautions that the unemployment rate will likely rise well above 5% once the full impact of lockdowns is felt. — Bloomberg

SYDNEY: Australian employment dived in August as coronavirus lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne forced businesses to lay off workers and slash hours, while the jobless rate was nudged lower by a sharp fall in the number of people looking for work.

Yesterday’s data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed employment fell by 146,000 in August, compared to median forecasts of a drop of 90,000.