As Australia has experienced below-trend economic growth recently, and the unemployment rate has crept up to around 6 per cent, reducing the bargaining power of employees, wages growth has fallen (chart above). This in turn has contributed to relatively low inflation, giving the Reserve Bank of Australia some scope to cut the cash rate further, although it would need to consider the risk of further inflating the Sydney property price bubble. Given this context, it would be timely to hear from the RBA on recent labour market developments, and it so happens that a senior RBA official, Christopher Kent, is scheduled to address an Economic Society of Australia (Qld) lunchtime seminar on Friday 14 August:

Christopher Kent – Recent Labour Market Developments

The registration fee for the seminar will be $15 for members and $25 for non-members, which will help cover the costs to ESA (Qld), of which I’m the Secretary. You can register by getting in touch with the Secretariat (admin@esaqld.org.au).