Aust unemployment rate steady in Jan
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AAP
February 07 2013, 12:11AM
St George Bank economist Janu Chan said the change in total employment was in line with expectations, slightly recovering from a decline in December.
"But, overall, it's still a soft reading and just holding the trend of soft jobs growth," she said.
Ms Chan said the figures had not changed her view that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will cut interest rates again later this year, although a March cut was now more unlikely.
"We are expecting the RBA to hold off until April given the improving global backdrop," she said.
"I think this report alone and with the run of data since the last meeting, we're probably about to see a bit more weakness in domestic demand before the RBA cuts again.
"We're not of the view that that'll happen as soon as next month."