00:00While business at this restaurant is heating up, finding the right staff is proving harder
00:07than ever.
00:08We have a lot of applications come through weekly for jobs for front of house and kitchen
00:13and things like that.
00:14But it doesn't mean that they're all hireable.
00:16In February, almost 53,000 jobs were lost from the economy.
00:21There were 11,200 fewer people out of work, with many deciding to leave the workforce
00:27largely to retire, pushing the participation rate down.
00:31That kept unemployment steady at 4.1 per cent.
00:35Baby boomers will choose to retire when their financial circumstances allow them to do so.
00:39But we are still seeing many new jobs created for younger people.
00:43Australians are working harder for less.
00:47In the last 12 months, they're working more hours and they're getting less for it.
00:53What many people want to know, of course, is what does this mean for rates?
00:56Three of the big four banks are forecasting a cut in May, but that will depend on the
01:01next round of quarterly inflation figures, which are due to be released next month.
01:06The job market overall has been pretty strong, so the February result is somewhat of an outlier
01:11compared to what we have seen over the past six months or so.
01:14So the RBA won't be too concerned about that result, unless we see further weakness in
01:19the month of March.
01:20May is still a live meeting with a possibility of a rate cut, but on the balance of data
01:26right now, we don't think there'll be a rate cut in May either.
01:30The ANZ research forecast is that the next cut will occur in August and that that will
01:35be the last cut.
01:36A rate cut could mean more customers at Hayley's Restaurant as the search for candidates continues.
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