Aus jobless rate hits a 12-yr high, what happened?

FXStreet (Bali) - One of the reason that appears to have negatively affected the jobless rate in Australia in today's release, which came at its highest level in 12 years (6.4% vs 6% exp), is the fact that the Australian Bureau of Statistics - ABS -introduced today for the first time changes in the calculation method for employment.

Some market analysts had taken notice of these possible effects, being aware that it could have an impact on the unemployment rate in coming months. One of the main changes in how the survey results are calculated now include, as MNI reports, "two new active job search steps, that is, whether the respondent has had an interview with a prospective employer and whether the respondent has taken steps to purchase or start a business, currently, such respondents are considered as not in the labor force."

There are additional changes implemented, and while the ABS said that the change may slightly distort labour force classified as unemployed, what the market seems to care about so far are the headline numbers, both coming much worse than expected, causing a 1/2 cent Aussie sell-off.