Inflation has jumped to 7.3 per cent, higher than analysts’ expectations and well above ANZ’s prediction of 7 per cent.
According to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the biggest drivers are housing prices, which are up 9.6 per cent, food and non-alcoholic beverages (9.4 per cent), transport (9.0 per cent), furniture, household equipment and services (8.4 per cent) and recreation and culture (5.8 per cent).
Michelle Marquardt, ABS Head of Prices Statistics, notes: “This month’s annual movement of 7.3 per cent compares to 6.9 per cent in October and 7.3 per cent in September, indicating ongoing inflationary pressures.”
Marquardt said: “The Housing group was the main contributor to the annual increase in the November monthly CPI indicator. High labour and material costs contributed to the annual rise in new dwelling prices (+17.9 per cent) although, the rate of price growth for new dwellings has eased compared to the 20.4 per cent annual rise seen in October.”
Foods and non-alcoholic beverages suffered from “increasing operating costs, including wages, electricity, and weather affected reductions in food supplies” which continued to drive prices up, according to Marquardt.
The ABS also revealed Australian job vacancies for November were 444,200, a 4.9 per cent drop from August 2022.
“Despite the decrease, the level of job vacancies in November 2022 remained elevated,” the ABS reported.
“Job vacancies were 94.9 per cent higher than they were in February 2020, prior to the start of the pandemic.
“The ongoing high level of vacancies reflected the continuing labour shortages in some industries.”
