Job ads rise 1.2% in February, Construction activity slips again: Midday Roundup

The number of job ads published on the internet and in newspapers rose by 1.2% in February, according to the latest ANZ job ads series.

Total ads grew for a tenth consecutive month to be 19.3% higher than the same time last year. Ads rose by the most in Queensland, where the number of ads rose by 30.5% – although ANZ says this is clearly due to the clean-up efforts after natural disasters.

“The further rise in job advertising suggests the Australian economy continues to make forward progress in spite of somewhat mixed performance across a number of sectors,” ANZ head of Australian economics and property research Ivan Colhoun said in a statement.

The number of internet job ads rose by 1% following a 3.1% increase in January, while newspaper ads grew by 4.4%, although much of this gain was because of the boost in Queensland.

ANZ says it expects an employment increase of 28,000 in February, suggesting the unemployment rate will likely remain unchanged at 5%.

Construction activity contracts in February

Activity in the construction sector contracted for a ninth consecutive month in February due to weaker demand and high interest rates, the latest Australian Industry Group-Housing Industry Association performance of construction index reveals.

The index rose by 4.4 points to 44.6 points in February, below the 50-point level separating expansion from contraction.

Australian Industry Group director of public policy Peter Burn said housing construction was low, but there are positive signs.

“There are some signs that activity in the other sub-sectors may improve in the months ahead,” he said in a statement.

“The expansion in activity recorded by engineering construction and the slowdown in the pace of decline of activity in apartment and commercial construction provide some encouragement.

The Housing Industry Association said the results show 2010 interest rate hikes have kept the housing industry subdued.

Shares flat after weak Wall Street lead

The Australian sharemarket has opened flat this morning after Wall Street stocks eased from substantial gains late last week.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 45 points or 0.54% to 4818.7 at 12.15 AEST, while the Australian dollar also opened flat at $US1.01.

AMP shares gained 0.55% to $5.45, while Commonwealth Bank shares lost 1.29% to $51.97. Westpac shares fell 1.02% to $23.24 as ANZ fell 0.76% to $23.56.

Mining groups opposed carbon tax

Rio Tinto and Woodside Petroleum have joined forces to oppose the Government’s plan to tax carbon emissions, saying it will hurt the business community.

Rio Tinto managing director for Australia, David Peever, said in a letter published in The Australian that the scheme should be changed.

“Businesses unable to pass a carbon price through to customers, which is most businesses competing in international markets, would simply have to absorb it,” Peever said.

“Depending on the magnitude of the carbon price, this may be manageable when market conditions are favourable and margins are healthy. But when the cycle turns down, it will inevitably be disastrous.”

United States considers plan to lower oil prices

The United States Government is considering plans that would help it lower oil prices, as turmoil in the Middle East has pushed up prices worldwide.

The Government’s policy is that it only releases oil reserves in a significant outage, but White House chief of staff William Delay told Meet the Press that “we are looking at the options”.

“It is something that only is done – has been done – in very rare occasions. There’s a bunch of factors that have to be looked at and it is just not the price,” he said. “All matters have to be on the table when you go through – when you see the difficulty coming out of this economic crisis we’re in and the fragility of it.”