Job confidence slips

Unemployment confidence has slipped from historically high levels after recent high-profile job losses, the Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence survey said. The index fell to 128.4 in the June quarter from 131.0 in the March quarter. A reading above 100 indicates more optimists than pessimists.

But optimism remained strong with more than half the respondents believing they would earn more in a year's time than now.

Public sector workers were more confident than those in the private sector, with more private sector workers expecting jobs to become harder to find and fewer expecting a rise in earnings.