Another solid employment rise seen for May
Economists expect another solid rise in employment was recorded in May, which should at least keep the unemployment rate steady at 5.5 per cent.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the crucial labour force report for May on Thursday.
Economists' forecasts centre on a further 30,000 increase in employment in May, although there is a wide range of expectations, from a 60,000 rise to a 19,000 decline.
The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 5.5 per cent even after six consecutive months of declines, although again forecasts range from 5.3 per cent to 5.7 per cent.
The report comes at a time of strong demand for workers, with job advertising having grown for 12 months in a row to be almost 40 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels.
Just hours before the jobs report, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe will address the Australian Farm Institute Conference in the southern Queensland city of Toowoomba.
It will be Dr Lowe's first public appearance since March and his speech, titled Recovery to Expansion, will provide an opportunity for him to give his view on how the economy is now fairing after last year's recession.
Minutes of the RBA's June 1 board meeting released this week showed members believe the economy is transitioning from recovery to expansion with more momentum than previously anticipated.
However, the minutes also stuck to the line that the cash rate will remain at a record low 0.1 per cent until inflation is sustainably within the two and three per cent target, an event that is unlikely to occur until 2024 at the earliest.
