Business confidence and job advertising weakened in April, signalling that a rapid increase in interest rates is now starting to cool the economy. Business confidence levels fell for the second consecutive month in April as sentiment across the retail, building and transport sectors soured, according to a survey by the National Australia Bank. NAB's monthly business survey found confidence in April fell 3 points to an index reading of plus 13, still above the long-run average of plus 7. Business conditions fell 5 points to plus 8, NAB said.
The total number of job advertisements in newspapers and on the internet fell 1.2% in seasonally adjusted terms in April compared to the previous month to an average of 160,660 ads per week, contributing to a 14.9% annual rise, ANZ said Monday. The number of Internet job advertisements fell 1.3% in April from March, contributing to an annual increase of 14.7% in seasonally adjusted terms. Job advertisements in newspapers fell 0.7% in April from March contributing to a 17.6% annual increase in seasonally adjusted terms.