Interest rates: Reserve Bank expected to hold at 3.6 per cent amid economic uncertainty

The Reserve Bank’s battle to balance inflation and unemployment looks increasingly fraught, with more signs the national jobs market is deteriorating and cash-strapped consumers are winding back spending on life’s little luxuries.

Ahead of the conclusion of the bank’s two-day monetary policy committee meeting, which is expected to leave official interest rates on hold at 3.6 per cent, new figures show employers are hitting the brakes on hiring new staff.

The Reserve has championed the way inflation has fallen over the past three years while employment growth has remained strong, as the bank aims to fulfil its dual mandate of keeping inflation between 2 and 3 per cent and keeping as many people in work as possible.

But the closely watched ANZ-Indeed measure of job ads, released on Monday