Oz jobless rate hits new high

AUSTRALIA’S jobless rate rose to an eight-month high in July as hiring stalled, prompting Goldman Sachs & Partners Australia Pty to predict as many as two interest rate cuts this year.

Unemployment jumped to 5.1% in July from 4.9% a month earlier, the first increase since October, the statistics bureau said. The number of workers fell by 100 after a revised 18,200 gain in June. That compares with the median estimate for 10,000 additional jobs in a Bloomberg News survey.

Exporters and retailers such as David Jones are getting hurt by a currency that’s risen 14% in the past year, and by consumers who are saving more, prompting the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep its benchmark interest rate at 4.75% since November. Goldman Sachs predicted that pause will end next month and unemployment will rise above 5.25%.