Australia's volatile jobs numbers cloud visibility for central bank, investors

Sydney

AUSTRALIA'S gyrating jobs figures are making it harder for the central bank and investors to gauge the impact of record-low interest rates on the nation's economy.

The number of people employed fell by 29,700 last month after rising 32,100 in August, the statistics bureau said on Thursday.

It announced on Wednesday a review of the methodology designed to smooth seasonal factors that produced a record 121,000 increase in jobs in August and would've shown a 172,000 loss in September.

"The admission of statistical discrepancies has essentially muddied the state of the labour market," said Savanth Sebastian, an economist at a unit of Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "Not only does it make it difficult for investors and analysts to get a clearer picture of employment growth, but it will result in Reserve Bank policy makers being more cautious when it comes to interest rate d…