On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released the minutes of its July Board Meeting, which contained an interesting morsel noting that lower population growth (immigration) has likely improved the unemployment rate:
Members noted that the latest estimates indicated that the population had increased by 1.4 per cent over the year to the December quarter, down from a peak rate of growth of 1.8 per cent over 2012. The slower growth was primarily accounted for by a decline in net immigration, which was particularly pronounced in Western Australia and Queensland, consistent with weaker economic conditions in those states. Members observed that the lower-than-expected growth in the population helped to reconcile the below-average growth in output over the past year with a broadly steady unemployment rate…
