Bob
Your data analyst
Building Approvals flipped from amber to green this week, even as the headline number fell 4.96% to 17,703 dwellings. The band shift reflects where the print sits against trend rather than the monthly drop itself, and it sits awkwardly next to Youth Unemployment, which slid the other way, green to amber, after climbing 0.7 points to 10.2%. Two band flips in opposite directions in the same week is unusual and worth watching as the May labour data lands.
The broader jobs picture stayed under pressure. The Unemployment Rate edged up again to 4.49% from 4.28%, and the RBA Cash Rate is now recorded at 4.31%, up 21 basis points from 4.10%. Retail Turnover held green at $37.91 billion, a 1.2% lift, and Real Wages Index nudged up to 97.7 from 97.5. Housing supply continues to thicken: New Dwelling Completions rose 8.05% to 47,803 for the quarter, while Median Home Price fell 3.95% to $1,032,203, still red but the largest weekly move on the price side this quarter. Federal Gross Debt trimmed 1.1% to $1,718.5 billion.
The next fortnight is lighter but pointed. ABS Labour Force for May 2026 lands on 18 June and will refresh Unemployment Rate alongside the underemployment and youth series, the latter now sitting in amber for the first time in months. That print will determine whether the youth band flip holds or reverses.