Labour Force Survey (Sep.) The second month of strong employment gains in September suggests that the labour market is continuing to shrug off global growth concerns. But with the gains driven by public sector and self-employed... 11th October 2019 · 2 mins read
India Economics Weekly Global Competitiveness Index gives food for thought The drop in India’s ranking in the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Competitiveness Index released this week is likely to reverse next year as reforms has been stepped up since the general... 11th October 2019 · 5 mins read
China Economic Outlook Slowdown delayed not averted China’s economy has remained resilient in recent months. But with the boom in property construction on borrowed time and headwinds from higher food inflation and cooling global demand likely to... 10th October 2019 · 27 mins read
Asia Economic Outlook Further slowdown in China, but recovery elsewhere Regional growth is likely to remain very weak, with slower growth in China likely to offset a modest recovery in the rest of the region. China’s economy has remained resilient in recent months. But... 10th October 2019 · 49 mins read
Japan Economic Outlook Headwinds strengthening We still think that the impact of October’s sales tax hike on consumption will be smaller than after previous tax hikes. But the outlook for external demand remains poor and firms have become less... 9th October 2019 · 22 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update New Zealand - RBNZ to cut rates more sharply than most expect We now expect growth in New Zealand to ease from 2.2% in 2019 to 1.5% in 2020. Along with a rising unemployment rate, weak economic activity will prompt the RBNZ to cut rates twice next year. 9th October 2019 · 3 mins read
Japan Data Response Labour Cash Earnings (Aug.) Growth in regular earnings has been broadly steady around 0.5% in recent months. And while we expect the unemployment rate to rise, wage growth may climb to 1.0% over the coming months. 8th October 2019 · 2 mins read
US Data Response Employment Report (Sep.) & International Trade (Aug.) The 136,000 increase in non-farm payrolls in September illustrates that while growth in employment (and broader activity) has slowed, it is not collapsing. Otherwise, the employment report was... 4th October 2019 · 2 mins read
Japan Economics Weekly Are we any closer to a rate cut? This week brought more evidence that consumers rushed to bring forward spending ahead of the tax hike that took place on Tuesday. Meanwhile, capacity shortages are diminishing and firms are becoming... 4th October 2019 · 6 mins read
UK Economics Focus How low can the natural rate of unemployment go? A continued decline in the natural rate of unemployment over the past 15 years means that there is probably a little bit more slack in the labour market than indicated by the near-record low... 2nd October 2019 · 14 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Update Natural unemployment rate probably still at 4% We still believe that the unemployment rate would have to fall to 4.0% to meet the RBA’s definition of full employment. With the actual unemployment rate now at 5.3% and rising, that means that the... 2nd October 2019 · 2 mins read
Japan Data Response Tankan (Q3) & Labour Market (Aug.) The latest Tankan survey shows that business conditions are holding up better than expected while the labour market remains very tight. And even though firms are turning more cautious about the... 1st October 2019 · 3 mins read
Japan Rapid Response Labour Market (Aug.) Unemployment to rise to 2.5% by year-end The continued tightness of the labour market is reducing the pressure on the Bank of Japan to provide additional stimulus but we expect unemployment to rise... 1st October 2019 · 1 min read
Europe Data Response Euro-zone Unemployment (Aug.) Euro-zone employment growth looks set to slow over the rest of this year, and remain subdued in 2020. So we expect wage growth to weaken too, eventually prompting the ECB to loosen policy again. 30th September 2019 · 2 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Chart Pack Not living up to their potential Economic growth has continued to ease in both countries in the first half of 2019. In Australia, GDP growth eased to 1.4% y/y in Q2. And while the government’s tax cuts may mean that consumption... 30th September 2019 · 10 mins read
Australia & New Zealand Economics Weekly Falling global rates put pressure on central banks The Governors of both the RBNZ and the RBA argued this week that falling interest rates across the globe reflect structural as much as cyclical factors. Given that central banks elsewhere will... 27th September 2019 · 7 mins read