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Australian new homes sales rose 11% in August from July, the best outcome in over three and a half years, the Housing Industry Association, an umbrella group for home builders, said.

The sharp rise follows a modest 0.1% increase in July from June. It comes amid a late surge in sales to first-time home buyers as generous government grants are due to be pared back, it said in a statement.

Detached house sales rose by 11.8% on-month, following a 0.3% rise in July. The number of apartments sold rose by 7.5%.

Australian annual wage rises under all enterprise agreements struck in the second quarter of 2009 averaged 3.9%, down from 4.6% in the first quarter, the Department of Employment additionally reported.

In the private sector, annual wage rises under enterprise agreements certified in the second quarter averaged 4.0%, down from 4.6% in the first quarter.  For public sector employees, the average annual wage increase under enterprise agreements struck in the three months to June 30 was 3.9%, down from 4.3% in the first quarter.

An index of job vacancies for skilled workers in Australia rose by 1.2% in September from August, the Department of Employment said.  The index currently stands at 38.6 but is still 50.4% lower than in September 2008.

The Australian economy continues to shows signs of a solid recovery with a leading index of economic activity showing strong improvement in July.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of economic activity contracted at an annualised rate of 1.8% in July compared with a contraction of 4.6% in June. The index attempts to point to where the economy is likely headed in the next three to nine months.

The total number of houses and apartments that started construction in Australia in the second quarter of 2009 fell 3.7% from the first quarter to a seasonally adjusted 30,411.

The Bureau of Statistics also reported that the number of private-sector houses started in the second quarter rose 3.7% from the previous quarter to 22,347.

The value of commercial finance issued in Australia in July fell 1.0% after seasonal adjustment from June to $25.86bn, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.

Inflationary expectations were unchanged in September, with the median expected inflation rate unchanged from a reading of 3.5% in August, according to a survey by the Melbourne Institute.

Australia's economy shed a larger-than-forecast 27,100 jobs in August, tempering expectations of a rise in interest rates in October.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 5.8% in August from July, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Economists on average had expected an unemployment rate of 5.9%, with the number of employed down 15,000.

An index of consumer sentiment rose 5.2% in September from August to its highest level since July 2007.

The index rose to 119.3 points in September in seasonally adjusted terms from 113.4 points in August, compilers Westpac and the Melbourne Institute said in a statement.

Australian retail sales fell for a second consecutive month in July as the impact of the government's fiscal stimulus showed signs of fading fast, challenging widely held expectations that interest rates will rise before the end of the year.

Housing finance also fell in July, its first monthly drop since September 2008, evidence that recent widespread talk of rising interest rates may have put a brake on demand.