Australia Job Losses Cap Worst Year Since 1992

Australian employers unexpectedly cut jobs in December, capping the labor market’s worst year in almost two decades, as investors raised bets on interest-rate reductions. The local currency declined. The number of people employed fell by 29,300 last month after a revised 7,500 drop in November, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today. The year ended with a revised 5.2 percent jobless rate and little change in payrolls from December 2010, their worst annual performance since 1992. The year ended with a revised 5.2 percent jobless rate and little change in payrolls from December 2010, their worst annual performance since 1992. “The clear message is that the labor market has slowed materially in the second half of 2011 and that’s going to be one of the major concerns for the Reserve Bank as we move through 2012,” said Brian Redican. Investors are pricing in 107 basis points of rate cuts over the next 12 months, up from 103 points, a Credit Suisse Group AG Index showed in Sydney today.