Australia's unemployment rose to 4.7% in September, a five-year high and above economists' forecast of 4.6%, while employment fell by almost 40,000, a smaller drop than expected. The data raises the prospect that the Reserve Bank will hold rates at its meeting on Melbourne Cup day in early November, as unemployment is already above its 4.5% forecast for the December quarter. RBA officials including Chris Kent and Andrew Hauser speak this week, and NAB economist Jessie Cameron said the bank is probably not going to hike again, though the risk of a hike remains. The official cash rate was lifted to 4.6% at the last meeting, its highest in 15 years. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 1.09% to 7,659.44 points, the Nasdaq dropped 2.15% to 26,140.03 and the Dow slipped 0.34% to 52,002.41, while the S&P/ASX200 rose 1% to 8806.7 on Friday.
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interest ratesRBAAustraliaemploymentAUDUSD
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Related tickers and likely impact
AUD/USD
▼ Likely negativeRelevance: medium
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/16/2026 | 0.69462 |
| Change that session | +0.35% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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Australia's unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in September, a multi-year high and above the 4.6% economists had forecast, while employment fell by almost 40,000. The data raises the chance that the RBA holds interest rates at its Melbourne Cup day meeting, with the cash rate at 4.6%, the highest in 15 years. RBA officials speak in the coming days, and NAB says the central bank may hold but the risk of a hike remains. On Wall Street, all three major indices closed sharply lower as AI-related tech stocks came under pressure and oil prices jumped; the S&P 500 fell 1.09% to 7,659.44 points and the Nasdaq dropped 2.15% to 26,140.03 points. In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 rose to 8,806.7 points.
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Australia's unemployment rose to a five-year high of 4.7% in September, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, above the 4.6% economists had forecast. Employment fell by almost 40,000, a smaller drop than expected. The data raises the chance that the Reserve Bank (RBA) will hold rates at its meeting on Melbourne Cup day in early November, as unemployment is already above its 4.5% forecast for the December quarter. RBA officials speaking this week will be watched for hints on the November decision. On Wall Street, all three major indices closed sharply lower on Friday as AI-related tech stocks came under pressure and oil prices rose; the S&P 500 fell 1.09% to 7,659.44 points and the Nasdaq fell 2.15% to 26,140.03 points.
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