Another gloomy outlook...
 

Jobless rate may double as China slows

Australia's jobless rate will more than double in the next two years as slower economic growth in China, the nation's largest trading partner, prompts companies to fire workers and cut investment, JPMorgan Chase said.

The unemployment rate will surge to 9% in late 2010 from 4.3% in September, Stephen Walters, JPMorgan's Sydney-based chief economist, said.

The investment bank also cut its forecast for Australia's economy in 2009 for the second time in as many weeks as ''softer growth in one of Australia's leading export destinations'' means export volumes will be lower. Gross domestic product will rise 1.4% next year, down from a previous forecast of 1.8% and 2.5%, Walters told clients in a note.

''Australia's commodity exporters cannot sail in calm waters while the rest of the world battles a storm,'' Walters said.

''Anecdotes from Western Australia, the beating heart of the mining boom, indicate that projects already are being postponed and jobs cut, partly because firms are finding it increasingly difficult to secure project finance,'' Walters said.

http://business.smh.com.au/business/...1022-5622.html



This is on top of the 5% inflation and further likely interest rate cuts that will continue to fuel it... Difficult times ahead...