Strong employment, jobless near 50year lows keep RBA on alert
Fulltime employment surges, positive for household income
Data suggests strong Q1 inflation, see RBA hike again analyst

SYDNEY, April 13 Reuters Australia employment blew past expectations for a second month in March while the jobless rate held near 50year lows, an unambiguously strong report that suggests the central bank39;s tightening campaign may not be over yet.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday net employment rose 53,000 in March from February, when they rebounded by a steep but slightly downwardly revised 63,600. Market forecasts had been for a rise of 20,000, following several months of seasonal volatility.

The jobless rate stayed at 3.5, when analysts had looked for a nudge up to 3.6. Fulltime employment surged by 72,200, after a hefty increase of 74,900 the previous month, an encouraging sign for household income.

The local dollar rose 0.2 to 0.6707, threeyear bond futures slid 7 ticks to 97.06, and markets moved to price in a slightly higher chance of 18 for a 25 basis point hike when the Reserve Bank of Australia next meets in May.

There are very few signs of weakness in these data and little to suggest the labour market is slackening in a meaningful way, said Sean Langcake, Head of Macroeconomic Forecasting for BIS Oxford Economics.

This affirms our expectation that the Q1 CPI print will be a strong one, and we expect to see the RBA raising rates again in…