S&P/ASX 200 dips even as full-time employment increases by 89,000

S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) fell 0.39% to 6,768 by 1.44 pm even as seasonally adjusted employment increased by 89,000 people between January and February 2021 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Losses for healthcare stocks, banks, properties and utilities are weighing on the index. Continued recovery in the labour market Bjorn Jarvis, head of labour statistics at the ABS, said the latest data showed continued recovery in the labour market into February, particularly for women. “The strong employment growth this month saw employment rise above 13 million people, and was 4,000 people higher than March 2020. “Full-time employment increased by 89,000 people, of which 69,000 were women. “Female full-time employment was 1.8 per cent higher than March 2020, while male full-time employment was 0.8 per cent below.” Hours worked bounces back Seasonally adjusted hours worked bounced back in February, increasing by 6.1 per cent, following the 4.9 per cent fall in January, when more Australians than usual took leave. Hours worked were 0.7 per cent below the level seen in March 2020, reflecting a 94 per cent recovery in the fall in hours between March and May. Hours worked by women were 0.6 per cent above March 2020, while hours worked by men were 1.6 per cent below. “Hours worked increased across all of the states and territories, except for in Western Australia, where hours were affected by the lockdown in the first week of February,” Mr Jarvis said. Top gainers Today’s top gainers on the ASX include Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) (+13.04%), Auteco Minerals Ltd (ASX:AUT) (+10.34%), Buru Energy Limited (ASX:BRU) (+14.29%), Creso Pharma Ltd (ASX:CPH) (+13.16%), PNX Metals Ltd (ASX:PNX) (+14.29%), Tyranna Resources Ltd (ASX:TYX) (+14.29%) and Triangle Energy (Global) Ltd (ASX:TEG) (+12.12%). 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