Australian Employment data is solid and offering support to AUD

Australia’s February labour force survey has been released with strong headline numbers which is supporting the outlook for the Australian dollar for the day ahead. 

• Australian Employment Change Feb: 77.4K vs (est 37.0K; prev 12.9K).
• Australian Unemployment Rate Feb: 4.0% vs (est 4.1%; prev 4.2%).
• Full-Time Employment Change: +121.9K vs (prior -17K).
• Participation Rate: 66.4% vs (expected 66.3% and prior 66.2%)

''Australian employment sped past expectations in February as activity recovered surprisingly quickly from an Omicron outbreak, driving unemployment down to lows not seen since 2008 and adding to pressure for an early rate hike,'' Ruetrrs reported. 

Given that the recent floods in NSW and QLD have come after the February reference period,  Employment was expected to lift by 37k for the month.  A lift in participation to 66.4% should boost the impact of the fall in the Unemployment Rate in the eyes of the market. 

Meanwhile, however, AUD/USD is moving higher by a handful of pips on the outcome of the report. 

AUD/USD is trading within a range of 0.7282 and 0.7311 on the day with highs being struck on the day.

About the Unemployment Rate

The Unemployment Rate released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labour force. If the rate hikes, this indicates a lack of expansion within the Australian labour market. As a result, a rise leads to weakening the Australian economy. A decrease of the figure is seen as positive (or bullish) for the AUD, while an increase is seen as negative (or bearish).