/www.bloomberg.com/
By Victoria Batchelor
Sydney, Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Australian retail spending probably rose for a third straight month in October, bolstered by the lowest unemployment rate in two years and higher wages.
Retail sales probably increased 0.5 percent from a month earlier, according to the median forecast of 20 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Sales rose 0.7 percent in September. The retail report will be released at 11:30 a.m., Sydney time, tomorrow.
Consumer spending is fueling economic growth at a time when exports are falling and a drought is cutting farm production. A report this week is expected to show the economy grew 0.9 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months and 3.4 percent from a year earlier, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
``The growth in employment and wages is encouraging consumers to spend more at shopping malls,'' said Besa Deda, an economist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Bolstering consumer spending, the economy added 15,800 new jobs in October and the unemployment rate fell to 6 percent, matching its lowest since October 2000. The jobless rate hasn't been lower than 6 percent in 12 years.
Hourly rates of pay, the key measure of wage growth, rose 1.3 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months. That was the largest quarterly increase since the index was first published five years ago.