At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is off its lows for the day, but still trading slightly lower. The benchmark index is down 0.2% to 5,547.8 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Big four banks tumble.

The big four banks have given back some of yesterday’s strong gains and are acting as a drag on the ASX 200 on Wednesday. The worst performer in the group today is the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price with a decline of 0.5%.

Sydney Airport update

The Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price is trading a fraction higher at lunch after the release of its April update. The airport operator revealed that Domestic passengers fell 97.9% and International passengers fell 96.9% in April. Management warned that the downturn in passenger traffic is expected to persist until government travel restrictions are eased.

TPG share price higher on update.

The TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX: TPM) share price is storming higher today after revealing its future business plans. Following FIRB approval for its merger with Vodafone Australia, the company has revealed that it intends to demerge its Singapore business. It will then be listed on the ASX has a separate entity. TPG also revealed plans to pay a fully franked cash special dividend.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) share price is the best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday with a 13% gain. This follows the release of a business update this morning which impressed investors. The worst performer is the Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW) share price with a 5% decline. Investors continue to sell the shopping centre operator’s shares due to the headwinds it is facing from the pandemic.

More reading

• Positive signs for Australia’s jobs market as ABS data points to a recovery
• Why the EML Payments share price is rocketing over 12% higher today
• Why investing in these COVID-19 stricken ASX shares won’t be the same again for a very long time
• Is the Newcrest Mining share price in the buy zone?
• Are ASX bank shares worth buying despite dividend cuts?

James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Emerchants Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Emerchants Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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There are some positive signs for Australia’s jobs market as new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reveals a slowdown in COVID-19 job losses.

The ABS has been collecting payroll and wages data in Australia as part of its effort to shed some light on the impact of COVID-19 on people and businesses across the country.

What the numbers say

According to the ABS, total payroll jobs fell by 7.3% between 14 March 2020 and 2 May 2020. In the same period, total wages paid decreased by 5.4% compared to an 8.2% drop in the ABS’ previous report, largely propped up by the JobKeeper payment. 

According to March unemployment data, some 13 million Australians were employed in mid-March. So, this reported 7.3% fall equates to around 950,000 job losses over the 7-week period.

The hardest-hit states were Victoria and New South Wales, where falls in job numbers were around 8.4% and 7.7%, respectively, over the 7-week period. In terms of wages, Western Australian fared the worst with a 7% fall in total wages, while Victoria wasn’t far behind with a 6.7% decrease.

At an industry level, the accommodation and food services industry had lost around a third of payroll jobs by the week ending 11 April. A subsequent increase in jobs saw this reduce to around 27.1% by the week ending 2 May.

Similar improvement has been seen in the arts and recreation services industry, where a previous fall of 27% is now a (still significant) 19% slump.

Tentative signs of improvement

Commenting on this new data, Bjorn Jarvis, Head of Labour Statistics at the ABS, said: “The latest data shows a further slowing in the fall in COVID-19 job losses between mid-April and early May.”

“The week-to-week changes are much smaller than they were early in the COVID-19 period. The decrease in the number of jobs in the week ending 2 May was 1.1 per cent, which was only slightly larger than the 0.9 per cent increase in the week ending 25 April,” Mr Jarvis added.

What does this mean for ASX shares?

Over this 7-week period, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) initially fell to a bottom on 23 March before emerging out of its bear market and marching higher (albeit with many bumps along the way):

The ASX 200 has continued to climb in the interim, just yesterday jumping 1.81% to close at 5,560 points, buoyed by COVID-19 vaccine hopes.

As the economy wakes from hibernation, the effects of COVID-19 and the associated restrictions will begin to emerge through data points like the ones mentioned above. Generally speaking, the share market reflects the conditions of local and global economies – or at least perceived conditions and sentiment – for which employment and wages certainly play a part.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.2%: Big four banks lower and TPG announces demerger plans
• Is the Newcrest Mining share price in the buy zone?
• Are ASX bank shares worth buying despite dividend cuts?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Top brokers pick the latest ASX stocks to buy today

Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Positive signs for Australia’s jobs market as ABS data points to a recovery appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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