The likelihood of a rate hike in June has shrunk after a surprise jump in the unemployment rate showed the Iran war is having a material impact on Australia's economy.
While bad news for workers, the rise in the jobless rate from 4.3 per cent to 4.5 per cent in April will be greeted with a sigh of relief by the Reserve Bank.
About 18,600 jobs dropped out of the economy in the month, defying economists' expectations for a rise of 15,000 jobs and a steady unemployment rate in official data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.
HSBC chief economist Paul Bloxham said the figures were the sort of decisive marker, taken together with falling consumer and business confidence and housing prices, that the economy was entering a downturn.
