The Australian economy has just recorded its biggest monthly job losses since records began in 1978.

Today the Australian Bureau of Statistics released its employment data for the month of April. This was the first month which fully captured the impact of broad-based lockdowns implemented late in March.

According to the release, the 594,300 jobs were lost from the economy in April, bringing Australia’s unemployment rate to a seasonally adjusted 6.2%.

This compares to the 550,000 jobs that economists were expecting the economy to lose last month and the 450,000 jobs that Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) was forecasting.

Hours worked plunge.

Due to initiatives such as the JobKeeper program, this data doesn’t truly show the extent of the damage to the economy.

Arguably a more accurate representation is using the hours worked metric. The Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that total hours worked fell by around 9.2% between March and April.

It commented: “When taken together with people leaving the workforce, around 2.7 million people (about 1 in 5 people employed in March) either left employment or had their hours reduced between March and April.”

As a result of this, the number of underemployed people rose by 603,300 people in April, to a total of 1.8 million people. This means the underemployment rate now stands at a record high of 13.7%, up 4.9 percentage points.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics also revealed a sharp increase in the underutilisation rate. This combines the unemployment and underemployment rates and rose to a record high of 19.9% in April.

In a press conference Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged that this is a “tough day for Australia.”

He commented: “Almost 600,000 jobs have been lost. Every one of them devastating for those Australians, for their families, for their communities. A very tough day.”

But the Prime Minister remains optimistic on the future, saying: “Hard work, that’s the way out. It’s always been the way out for us. Australians hurting today, they can look forward knowing, on the basis of our national character and ingenuity and resolution, that we will see those better days.”

More reading

• What happens to ASX shares if Australian house prices do fall 30%?
• This is the best ASX big bank stock you can buy right now
• How can the ASX 200 soar with rising unemployment?
• Safe dividend stocks to buy today for the COVID-19 world
• 3 top ASX 200 shares you can buy on sale today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. 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.

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Everyone wants to know how to invest like Warren Buffett. The ‘Oracle from Omaha’ has been one of the most successful investors ever. He’s built up his multi-billion dollar fortune by buying undervalued shares in companies with real growth potential.

It’s easy to imagine this strategy requires complicated algorithms and a touch of magic. The reality, however, is that Warren Buffett is human. In fact, his investment philosophy is actually very simple.

The man is known for his long-term investment horizon and ability to make calculated bets. If you want to know how to invest like Warren Buffett today, read on…

How to invest $1,000 like Warren Buffett today

I think it’s best to start with some quotes from the man himself. One of my personal favourites is, “Widespread fear is your friend as an investor because it serves up bargain purchases.”

It’s hard to think of something more appropriate to the current environment. COVID-19 shutdowns and an oil price war have smashed ASX share prices lower in 2020. In fact, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 19.79% and that certainly has investors feeling fearful.

For every headline about a quick recovery there’s another about the impending end of the world. Personally, I think there’s still some short-term economic pain to come, but there are also some high-quality companies on sale right now.

If you want to invest like Warren Buffett today, there could be some ASX shares in the buy zone right now. One example the legend himself might like the look of is BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). BHP’s shares have slumped 20.62% in 2020 and, I believe, could be undervalued. Particularly if we see Chinese demand continue to grow and more investment in Aussie infrastructure by the federal and state governments.

If you want to invest like Warren Buffett, buying undervalued shares is a great way to do it. Which brings me to another Warren Buffett quote I love: “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.”

As such, just because shares in companies like Southern Cross Media Group Ltd (ASX: SXL) are down over 70% in 2020, this doesn’t necessarily make them a bargain. Many businesses are doing it tough right now and, whilst some will be undervalued, buying distressed companies could be a whole new ball game for the average Aussie investor.

Foolish takeaway

There are buying opportunities available to savvy investors at the moment. If you want to invest like Warren Buffett, remember to only look for companies with a long-term perspective.

More reading

• Why I’d buy and hold Telstra shares for a decade
• ASX 200 down 0.9%: Xero posts strong growth & Australian economy loses 594,300 jobs
• Should you cash out of this ASX 200 rally?
• This ASX 200 share is rocketing higher after delivering more strong sales growth
• David Tepper believes we’re in the biggest stock bubble since 1999

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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.

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Looking for additional ASX tech shares to add to your portfolio?

While you may be aware of the WAAAX tech consortium, which includes well-known ASX tech companies such as Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), there’s a range of other emerging, smaller ASX tech shares that are worthy of consideration.

Here are 2 of my top picks of these smaller ASX tech shares:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

Bigtincan focuses on a fast-growing niche in the IT software market called ‘sales enablement’. The company provides organisations and their sales teams with a platform to access, customise, present, and collaborate on content and improve customer engagement. 

It also leverages artificial intelligence through features that include the ability for users to personalise and recommend content. Additionally, Bigtincan’s software neatly integrates with other leading customer relationship management solutions available on the market. 

Although its core offering is accessible to users on a range of desktop and mobile platforms, the tablet market, in particular, through devices such as iPads, provides Bigtincan with strong market differentiation.

Through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model, Bigtincan is a capital-light and highly efficient business that has a subscription type model with attractive margins.

The advantage of a SaaS business model is that the business is highly scalable – as each new user comes on board, the addition to overall operating overheads is marginal and the business gradually becomes more efficient and profitable. Bigtincan also has high customer retention rates.

The company only listed on the ASX in 2017 and is yet to become profitable. So, it is a relatively risky investment. Bigtincan must continue to keep costs under control and maintain its high customer retention rate. However, I believe the company appears to be reasonably on track to reach profitability in the years ahead as it gains further scale, driven by fast-growing market opportunities.

Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR)

I am attracted to wholesale IT distributor Dicker Data because of its proven track record and very attractive fully franked dividends. Dicker Data currently pays investors a lucrative grossed-up, forward dividend yield of 7.12%.

Dicker Data has seen a recent uplift in sales, recording its highest ever revenue month to date in March. This came as a huge number of employees were suddenly required to work from home due to the coronavirus crisis.

In fact, the crisis could actually change the long-term working habits of many Australian businesses as they see the benefits of remote working for a higher proportion of their employees. This could lead to further long-term demand for Dicker Data’s products. In a recent announcement, the company also detailed a plan to grow its dividend by 31% in FY2020.

Dicker Data also recently announced a capital raising, with the proceeds to be used to provide additional balance sheet flexibility and support the company’s long-term growth objectives. The proceeds will also be used partly to fund the construction of Dicker Data’s new distribution centre.

In contrast to a number of other ASX shares raising capital, Dicker Data was not under significant financial stress before the raising, which is reflected in its recent strong share price growth. While many ASX shares have only seen a partial rebound in their share price since the market bottomed in late March, Dicker Data has managed to regain all of its recent losses.

More reading

• ASX 200 down 0.9%: Xero posts strong growth & Australian economy loses 594,300 jobs
• Why Beach, CBA, Qantas, & Xero shares are dropping lower
• Could these small cap ASX shares be the next Afterpay?
• 3 top ASX shares to buy now and hold for 10 years
• If you invested $10,000 in the Afterpay IPO, this is how much you’d have now

Motley Fool contributor Phil Harpur owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO, Altium, and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO and Dicker Data Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO, Altium, and Xero. 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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