Australia’s Job Market Loses Some Pep in October
Unemployment rate remained at 4.1% for a third month in a row
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SYDNEY—Australia’s job market showed signs of cooling down in October as employment growth for the month came in a little bit below expectations, albeit the jobless rate remained near its historic lows.
The economy churned out 15,900 new jobs in October, about 10,000 fewer than economists had expected, and well short of the spectacular gains seen in recent months, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Thursday.
Still, the unemployment rate remained at 4.1% for a third month in a row in October, continuing to track below where the Reserve Bank of Australia has forecast it would be.
With employment growth slowing over the month, October might mark the start of a slowdown in hiring, which many economists have been expecting given that interest rates remain elevated and the economy overall has been sluggish.
The conditions for a cut in official interest rates early in 2025 appear to be slowly falling into place with inflation in a steady retreat and the job market now showing tentative signs of slowing down, economists said.
Still, money market traders are less optimistic than economists about the potential for a cut in interest rates, with swap markets not fully pricing in an interest rate cut until August next year.
The October unemployment rate remained 0.6 percentage points above its recent low of 3.5% in June 2023, while being 1.1 percentage points below its level just prior to the pandemic, the ABS said.
The number of unemployed people in October was 67,000 higher than a year ago, but was still 82,000 people lower than in March 2020, the ABS added.
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With US$40 million already committed, the Global Talent Fund is attracting investor attention with a strategy focused on building globally scalable consumer brands alongside high-profile talent.
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A new investment fund targeting celebrity-founded consumer brands has secured US$40 million in commitments and is rapidly approaching its US$50 million fundraising target, signalling growing investor appetite for alternative opportunities beyond traditional asset classes.
The Global Talent Fund, which has a maximum raise of US$100 million, focuses on building and investing in consumer businesses alongside celebrities, athletes, and influential personalities who play an active role as co-founders rather than simply endorsing products.
The strategy is based on the belief that changes in consumer behaviour, particularly the rise of social media and digital engagement, have fundamentally altered how brands are built and scaled.
GTF founding partner Jeremy Hunt, who is helping lead the fund’s strategy, said consumers increasingly feel connected to personalities they follow online and are more willing to support products developed by those individuals.
“Consumers are searching for content to engage with, and when a celebrity they like or follow takes them on the journey of creating a product or brand, they genuinely feel part of that process,” he said.
The fund is targeting high-growth consumer sectors including wellness, hydration, beauty and recovery, areas Hunt believes continue to benefit from strong global demand and ongoing innovation.
Rather than backing celebrity endorsement deals, the fund is seeking businesses where talent is deeply involved in product development, brand creation and long-term growth.
According to Hunt, authenticity remains one of the biggest differentiators between successful celebrity-backed brands and those that fail.
“The consumer can see clearly if someone is simply being paid to promote a product,” he said. “The winners are typically the brands where the celebrity has genuinely helped build the business from the ground up.”
The model has attracted support from several prominent Australian investors and business families, reflecting broader interest in alternative investments with global growth potential.
Hunt said consumer brands offered a level of tangibility that many investors found appealing.
“Consumer brands are what we touch, feel, smell and taste every day,” he said. “Our investors understand the growth potential in the model, but they also want to be part of the journey.”
The fund’s rapid progress towards its fundraising target comes amid growing recognition that celebrity influence, when combined with strong commercial execution and scalable business models, can create significant enterprise value.
With several high-profile celebrity-founded businesses generating billion-dollar exits in recent years, supporters of the strategy believe the opportunity remains in its early stages.
For more information, contact marc@kanerbridge.com.au
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