More evidence of ABS jobs numberwang

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Westpac has released its unemployment expectations chart pack for February, which revealed that unemployment expectations have registered a small rise after recent solid gains:

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Nevertheless, labour market conditions have continued to improve:

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But there continues to be significant numberwang in the official ABS figures, with jobs growth appearing way too strong to be believed:

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As are hours worked:

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As expected, NSW has the strongest labour market, whereas WA and SA are looking fragile:

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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.