Australia’s Job Market Remains Tight in July

SYDNEY—Australia’s unemployment rate rose in July to its highest level since late 2021 even as employment jumped by much more than expected over the month, with a record number of people participating in the labor market.

The unemployment rate rose to 4.2% in July from 4.1% in June, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.

The economy created a further 58,200 jobs over the month, with full-time employment rising by 60,500, the ABS said. The employment creation was about three times that expected by economists.

The apparent mismatch in the data is explained by a rise in the labor market participation rate to a record high 67.1% in July from 66.9% in June.

Overall, the data suggests the job market remains tight, which will feed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s fears about the availability of labor, wage pressures and sticky core inflation over the coming quarters.

RBA Gov. Michele Bullock ruled out an interest-rate cut over the next six months citing concerns that inflation remains stubbornly high, while firms are reporting the job market is still tight.

The employment-to-population ratio rose by 0.1 percentage point to 64.3%, indicating employment growth was faster than population growth, the ABS said.

“Although the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point in each of the past two months, the record high participation rate and near record high employment-to-population ratio show that there continues to be a high number of people in jobs, and looking for and finding jobs,” the ABS said in a statement.

The number of people unemployed increased to 637,000 in July, the highest it has been since November 2021, but it remains around 70,000 below its pre-pandemic level, ABS added.

Seasonally adjusted monthly hours worked rose by 0.4%, in line with the 0.4% increase in employment, the ABS said.

Starbucks is making another major leadership change just one week after new CEO Brian Niccol started his job.

Michael Conway, the 58-year-old coffee chain’s head of North America, will be retiring at the end of November, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The decision came only six months after Conway took on the job. His position won’t be filled. Instead, the company plans to seek candidates for a new role in charge of Starbucks’ global branding.

The chief brand officer role will have responsibilities across product, marketing, digital, customer insights, creative and store concepts.

“Recognizing the unmatched capabilities of the Starbucks team and seeing the energy and enthusiasm for Brian’s early vision, I could not think of a better time to begin my transition towards retirement,” wrote Conway in a statement.

Conway has been at Starbucks for more than a decade, and was promoted to his current job—a newly created role—back in March, as part of the company’s structural leadership change under former CEO Laxman Narasimhan.

The coffee giant has been struggling with weaker sales in recent quarters, as it faces not only macroeconomic headwinds, but also operational, branding, and product development challenges.

Narasimhan was taking many moves to turn around the business, but faced increasing pressure from the board, shareholders, and activist investors.

One month ago, Starbucks ousted Narasimhan and appointed Brian Niccol, the former CEO at Chipotle, as its top executive. The stock has since jumped 20% in a show of faith for Niccol, who started at Starbucks last week.

When he was at Chipotle, Niccol made a few executive hires that were key to the company’s turnaround.