Unemployment rate unexpectedly remains steady, Bradbury warns of Coalition GST changes: Midday roundup

The unemployment rate remained steady this morning, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics reporting the jobless rate in July was just 5.7%.

But the figure comes alongside a drop in the participation rate, which measures the number of people actively looking for work.

The figures show the number of jobs in Australia fell by 10,200 to a seasonally adjusted 11.6532 million, with full time employment falling 6,700 to 8.1339 million. Part-time employment dropped by 3,500 to 3.5193 million.

Economists had expected the unemployment rate to rise to 5.8%.

Bradbury warns of Coalition GST changes

Assistant Treasurer David Bradbury has warned changes to GST would be on the cards under a Coalition government.

Bradbury said the GST will either be increased or “savage” cuts will be made in order to fund the Liberal’s paid parental leave scheme, according to AAP.

“When you’ve got a $70 billion black hole and you announce big costing policies….and you haven’t come up with savings to fund that, then that leaves you with only a handful of options,” he said.

The comments come as business leaders remain cautious following Tony Abbott’s announcement of a company tax cut yesterday, saying the money for his policies would need to come from somewhere.

Shares rise slightly on Telstra results

The Australian share market has risen slightly higher today following a strong result from Telstra, and despite weak offshore leads.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 23 points or 0.5% to 5034.3 at 11.50 AEST, while in the United States the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 48 points or 0.3% to 15,470.