Opinion

The jobless rate is up. Over to you Governor Bullock

The unexpected jump in the unemployment rate to 4.3 per cent will put scrutiny on the RBA’s surprise decision not to cut interest rates this month.

John KehoeEconomics editor

Updated Jul 17, 2025 – 2.11pm, first published at 1.11pm

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The surprise rise in the unemployment rate to 4.3 per cent will naturally put scrutiny on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s shock decision not to cut interest rates this month.

With the benefit of hindsight, the RBA monetary policy board probably would have cut rates immediately had it known hiring was slowing down and the jobless rate had risen from the 4.1 per cent recorded in May.

John Kehoe is economics editor at Parliament House, Canberra. He writes on economics, politics and business. John was Washington correspondent covering Donald Trump’s first election. He joined the Financial Review in 2008 from Treasury.