COLI slows
The cost of living for employee households increased by just +1.3 per cent over the year to September.
For the September quarter the cost of living increase was only +0.1 per cent for employee households.
For households without tobacco consumption, the figure would be negative.
On the one hand, this is good news - it means that real incomes are rising, albeit slowly.
On the other hand, it's little wonder low inflation expectations are becoming embedded.
Elsewhere, the unemployment rate in New Zealand bounced off 11 year lows of 3.9 per cent, up to 4.2 per cent in the September quarter.
Sadly for Australia full employment has been missing in action for the past decade.
Financial media commentary is curiously accepting of this poor outcome for Aussie employees, consistently arguing that monetary policy can't boost employment and growth (despite international evidence to the contrary).
Not so Stephen Kirchner, mind you, with another barnstorming piece in the AFR (paywall).
