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Jobless Rate Dips

May 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Jobless

The jobless rate has dipped to 5.5 per cent as the total number of new jobs soared by a staggering 50,100 in April.

Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain at 5.6 per cent, with only 11,000 new jobs created.

But the number of people in full-time employment rose by 34,500, while part-time workers increased by 15,600, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday.

Across the states and territories, the individual unemployment rates were mixed.

The jobless rate in NSW fell to 5.3 per cent, from 5.5 per cent, and dropped to 5.6 per cent, from 5.9 per cent, in Queensland.

It also declined in South Australia to 5.7 per cent, from 5.8 per cent.

But in Victoria it rose to 5.8 per cent, from 5.7 per cent, jumped to 5.2 per cent, from 4.8 per cent, in Western Australia and increased to 7.5 per cent, from 7.3 per cent, in Tasmania.

Unemployment rose to 4.5 per cent, from 4.4 per cent, in the Northern Territory, but was unchanged at 4.6 per cent in the ACT.

Earlier this week, the Reserve Bank of Australia cut its cash interest rate to a historic low of 2.75 per cent to "encourage sustainable growth" in the economy.

Story source: www.ninemsn.com.au

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Facebook’s Diversification Drives Continued Growth

March 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Facebook, the largest social network in the US as well as the world, has been adding members at a rapid clip for the past two years. While that growth will moderate now that the social network is reaching a saturation point among many age groups, it will continue to gain audience for the foreseeable future.

eMarketer estimates that 132.5 million people in the US will be users of Facebook this year; by 2013, that number will increase to 152.1 million.

“Facebook’s recent successes—and its future prospects—are intrinsically connected with the site’s diversification,” said Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “Facebook Users: The Juggernaut Rolls On.” “What started out as a pure-play social network has evolved into an all-purpose destination that is beginning to replace email, instant messaging, video sharing, gaming and other activities that were otherwise scattered across unconnected venues.”

This growth will be driven primarily by increased Facebook use among older boomers and seniors. At the same time, teens and young adults will remain the site’s most active and engaged age groups. Compared with other age groups, they show extremely high penetration rates, spend more time on the site and have more friends in their networks.

The 18-to-44 age segment represents the largest demographic slice, 56.7% of Facebook users, and is a key target for marketers.

“With so many options to promote their brands on Facebook and its partner sites, marketers have little choice but to formulate a cohesive social media strategy,” said Verna. “Whether they advertise on Facebook, seed viral content on the site, build their digital presence through branded pages, use the ‘like’ button in their own content or mine data from users’ newsfeeds, marketers have a wealth of methods for monetizing the massive Facebook audience.”

tt twitter micro3 Facebook’s Diversification Drives Continued Growth


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Days of Double-Digit Growth in Social Network Users Are Over

March 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Social networking now reaches most internet users in the US and has become an integral part of their lives. Thanks to the rapid growth of Facebook, updating status, posting comments and sharing links with friends have become routine activities for millions of people.

eMarketer estimates nearly 150 million US web users will use social networks via any device at least monthly this year, bringing the reach of such sites to 63.7% of the online population. But the days of double-digit growth in users are over as social networking reaches a saturation point. By 2013, 164.2 million Americans will use social networks, or 67% of internet users.

“With fewer new users signing up, social network users will be more sophisticated and discerning about the people and brands they want to engage with,” said Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer principal analyst and author of the new report, “US Social Network Usage: 2011 Demographic and Behavioral Trends.”

Even as the social network audience has broadened to include a significant number of people from the Generation X, boomer and senior age segments, the youngest age groups are still the most represented, active and engaged. The enormous usage increases in some older age groups over the past two years will be less pronounced in the coming years.

Still, more than half of internet users ages 45 to 64 and over four out of five 12- to- 34-year-old online users will be regular social network users in 2011. The highest penetration level of all age groups will remain in the 18-to-24 age group, where 90% of internet users will use social networks this year.

“In 2011, social networks will need to cement their relationships with their users, particularly people ages 35 and older, in order to keep them engaged,” said Williamson. “Marketers and media companies can contribute to this effort by creating compelling user experiences that make people want to stay connected to social networks so they can gain access to experiences, deals or content they may not be able to find anywhere else.”

tt twitter micro3 Days of Double Digit Growth in Social Network Users Are Over


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Facebook Growth Dramatically Outpaces Other SocNets

November 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Facebook icon thumb Facebook Growth Dramatically Outpaces Other SocNetsA comparison of Facebook’s yearly growth in unique visitors shows it is gaining traction at a much faster pace than several other major social networking sites, according to CompetePRO data.

compete socnet figures oct 10 nov 2010.thumbnail Facebook Growth Dramatically Outpaces Other SocNets
Between October 2009 and October 2010, Facebook increased its unique visitor total almost 22%, from about 109.7 million to 133.5 million. Compared to September 2010, Facebook grew its unique visitor total 2% from 130.8 million.

In comparison, Twitter only increased its unique visitor total year-over-year about 1.3%, from 25.3 million to 25.7 million. Between September and October 2010, Twitter experienced negative unique visitor growth of 9.4%, falling from 28.3 million.

MySpace experienced significant negative unique visitor growth between October 2009 and 2010, falling 20.5% from 73 million to 58 million. Month-over-month, MySpace underwent 2.4% negative growth, dropping from 59.5 million unique visitors.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn also experienced negative year-over-year unique visitor growth of about 4.7%, going from 14.6 million to 13.8 million. However, LinkedIn posted modest month-over-month growth of 3.2% from about 13.4 million.

compete personal networking oct 10 nov 2010.thumbnail Facebook Growth Dramatically Outpaces Other SocNets
Combined, the 248 personal networking sites tracked by Compete (including Facebook, Twitter and MySpace), showed minimal growth in unique visitors between October 2009 and October 2010.

Personal networking sites only increased total unique visitors in that time by about 0.6%, from 144.6 million to 147.9 million. Month-over-month growth was negligible, rising from about 147.1 million.

compete professional networking oct 10 nov 20101.thumbnail Facebook Growth Dramatically Outpaces Other SocNets
The 47 professional networking sites tracked by Compete (including LinkedIn) drew far fewer total unique visitors than the 250 personal networking sites, and showed worse year-over-year but better month-over-month growth rates.

Between October 2009 and October 2010, unique visitors shrank about 3%, from 20.5 million to 18.9 million. However, professional networking sites increased unique visitors about 3% from 18.3 million in September 2010.

Seventy-four percent of young adults use Facebook to some degree, according to a recent study from Edison Research. By frequency of use, this figure breaks down to 55% actively using Facebook and 19% occasionally using it. Of the remaining 26%, only 4% are unfamiliar with Facebook.

In comparison, only 30% of young adults use MySpace, with 12% actively using it. Much higher percentages of young adults have a MySpace account but don’t use it and have deleted a MySpace account than fit these two categories for Facebook use. Unfamiliarity is also twice as high (8%).

Twitter only has a 4% active use rate and 8% occasional use rate among young adults. However, 61% have heard of Twitter but never used it, presenting significant potential for audience growth.

tt twitter micro3 Facebook Growth Dramatically Outpaces Other SocNets


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