Employment figures for August released on Thursday show an economythat has already changed down to first gear, on the verge of slipping into neutral, then slowly and inevitably grinding into reverse.

Unemployment decreased as did the unemployment rate but it was all due to a decline in the participation rate, i.e. unemployment was supplanted by a sense of futility on the part of job seekers as a result of the weak employment growth.

Read more at: The Australian Independent Media Network