This morning the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported a surprise rise in Australian unemployment to a nine-month high of 5.6% in April.
I think that this result is likely to quash any hope of increases in Australian wages in the short term and further push back rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
In light of this, I continue to believe that investors would be better off skipping savings accounts and putting their money to work in the share market.
If I had $10,000 to invest I would consider putting it in one of these three ASX shares:
Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)
Aristocrat Leisure is a gaming technology company at the top of its game right now. As well as having a core poker machine business that surveys have shown to be leading the industry, it has invested heavily in social and mobile gaming. The two sizeable digital gaming acquisitions it made in the last 12 months are expected to be highly accretive to earnings and be key drivers of profit growth over the next decade. Because of this, I think Aristocrat Leisure is one of the best growth shares on the market and trading at a relatively fair 28x estimated forward earnings.
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
Investors looking for exposure to the healthcare sector might want to consider this high quality company. Over the last decade this biotherapeutics company's shares have provided shareholders with an average annual total return of 18.3%. While the level of return may not be quite as strong over the next decade, I believe its robust core business, pipeline of products under development, and growing Seqirus influenza business could allow it to generate market-beating returns.
Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR)
Investors interested in dividend shares might want to check out this leading computer software and hardware wholesale distributor. Although its shares have gone ex-dividend this morning, Dicker Data pays its generous dividends in quarterly instalments, so you won't have long to wait until the next pay out. I've been very impressed with its performance this year and believe it is well-positioned to outperform after its strong first-quarter. That quarter saw profit before tax come in at$9.2 million, 22.8% higher than the prior corresponding period. This year management has guided to an 18 cents per share fully franked annual dividend, equating to a 6.2% yield at today's price.
