Reserve Bank of Australia Glenn Stevens: the labour market in Australia seems to improve

The Reserve Bank of Australia Glenn Stevens said before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics on late Thursday evening that a weaker Australian dollar begins to have a positive impact on the activity of companies, but the Australian economy expanded slower than expected.

The RBA governor noted that the labour market in Australia seems to improve.

"The labour force participation rate and the ratio of employment to population have both started to increase. The rate of unemployment, though variable from month to month, seems to have stopped rising," he said.

Stevens also said that resources sector exports rose strongly.

But he pointed out that the outlook depends on the global developments.

"Global factors will be important and the international setting continues to be a rather complex one. Since the last hearing, growth in the Chinese economy has continued to moderate. Growth in other parts of Asia was also weaker around the middle of the year. Reflecting these outcomes, forecasts for global growth over the period ahead are a little lower than they were six months ago," he said.

Stevens also said that the uncertainty over the Fed's is likely to weigh on the markets. But the RBA governor expects that the Fed will probably raise its interest rate before Christmas.