News Articles for Australian Bureau of Statistics

The RBA cash rate looks set to move past 3 per cent in months ahead; while the average WA home loan inked in April will now cost $610 more per month after five consecutive rate hikes.

While shoppers face inflationary pressures and a rising cost of living, the cost of doing business is also up.

A walk along Barrack Street provides a good insight on how Perth's small businesses are faring.

Building approvals have fallen dramatically in WA, with the number of new dwellings sanctioned down 37 per cent in July.

Retail spending was up 10.5 per cent in Western Australia in July compared to the same month in 2021, but most states substantially outperformed the west.

Workers are likely securing higher pay by changing jobs, new data from SEEK reveals, but driving up real wages remains a problem.

Australia's unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest in almost five decades with more positions open than jobseekers to fill them.

Wages increased 2.7 per cent in WA in the year to June, far below the rate of inflation.

Costs for Australian businesses rose 5.6 per cent in the 12 months to June 30, their biggest increase since December 2008.

Premier Mark McGowan says international factors are driving inflation, after Perth prices rose 7.4 per cent in the year to June, Australia's highest rate.

A growing number of companies are tapping into a pool of workers keen to learn and contribute.

The state government has stepped in to bridge the gap between skilled migrants and businesses, as record unemployment and chronic labour shortages force companies to look abroad for talent.

Two speeches in two days will give the Reserve Bank of Australia an opportunity to demonstrate how hawkish it is feeling as rate hikes loom.

About 9,100 fewer Western Australians were in work in June as the state's jobless rate defied an improvement nationally.

The national unemployment rate is set to fall further to 3.8 per cent when new labour force figures are released on Thursday.

New home builds in Western Australia have plunged 32.2 per cent in the latest quarterly data, the most significant drop in almost four decades, as rising costs slow the construction boom.

While the inflation challenge is expected to get worse before it gets better, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government is awake to the pressure on pensioners.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says payroll jobs rose 0.1 per cent in the month to June 11, with the trade surplus coming in at $15.9 billion in May.

Ahead of the release of payroll figures and the latest data on Australia's trade surplus, job advertisements are showing potential signs of decline.

WA building companies are learning from the collapse of competitors over the past 12 months.

The state government is trialling a 12-month pilot that will require suppliers to provide their gender equality credentials as part of the procurement process.

Job vacancies grew by 13.8 per cent in the three months to May and stand at more than double the number recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic set in.

WA has been among the most significant beneficiaries of what is being dubbed the “pandemic baby boom”, recording the second strongest population growth in the country.

Western Australia's jobless rate relaxed marginally to 3.1 per cent in May, though national unemployment remains at nearly a 50-year low.

Industry says Australian businesses are faced with workforce shortages supply chain disruptions and impacts of rising inflation.

Market conditions are leading to a proliferation of townhouse developments across Perth.

Household spending helped to prop up economic growth in the early months of this year, although there was a marked slowdown compared with the strong finish of 2021.

Wet weather and difficulty accessing workers curbed exploration spending in Western Australia by 13 per cent in early 2022, albeit from record investment in prior quarters.

Building approvals showed a more modest decline in April after the wild swings recorded in the early stages of 2022.

Consumer confidence has barely moved in response to the federal election result, which has seen Labor secure sufficient seats to run a majority government.

THE dust is just starting to settle on a federal election won by a Labor Party that stood on a platform of climate change, cost of living, gender equity, and building Australia's skills base.

Economists expect figures will show business investment picked up further in the March quarter, providing a boost to growth in the upcoming national accounts.

The unemployment rate in WA has fallen to 2.9 per cent in April, amid an environment of soaring inflation.

Retailers enjoyed a buoyant sales period during April compared to a year earlier, but ballooning inflation is eating into business operations.

Urbis says WA's population could rise faster than the government expects, as jobs figures remain at boom levels.

Wages in WA have performed worse than any state in the year to March, and were running more than 5 per cent behind inflation.

Perth voted the preferred national capital to invest in property in the next 12 months.

Inflation in Perth has hit the highest level since 1990 at 7.6 per cent, with rising homebuilding costs a key contributor.

Confidence eased slightly in the past week and could fall further as the latest inflation data highlights the extent of cost of living pressures.

The unemployment rate among women in Western Australia is just 3 per cent, the lowest since 2008, with the state posting a sharp improvement in the jobless rate in March.