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The Australian economy continues to limp along despite a pause in rate rises and a strong labour market.

The latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index of Economic Activity, released on Wednesday, showed growth lifting slightly to -0.6 per cent in July from -0.67 per cent in June.

The 12th month of negative results in the index is the longest run in seven years.

"The economy continues to see an extended period of weakness," Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said.

"Despite a slight improvement in the July month, the Leading Index growth rate remains firmly in negative territory."

The bank expects GDP growth to slow to one per cent in 2023, lifting to 1.4 per cent in 2024 - most of that coming towards the end of the year.

"Such a period of weak output growth should assist inflation to fall further and to eventually return to be within the RBA's target band."

Mr Hassan said he expected the Reserve Bank board to keep rates on hold at 4.1 per cent at its September meeting.

The Reserve Bank said in its latest board meeting minutes on Tuesday that while the official jobless rate remained around 3.5 per cent, there were some signs "the labour market was at a turning point".

The board noted a small rise in the underemployment rate, forecasting the unemployment rate to hit 4.5 per cent by late 2024.

More light will be shed on jobs when the latest official labour force figures are released on Thursday.

St George and Westpac economists expect the jobless figure to remain stable at 3.5 per cent.

However, ANZ expects the unemployment rate to tick up slightly to 3.6 per cent, with employment growth increasing by 5000 and the participation rate holding steady at 66.8 per cent.

"The leading labour indicators have deteriorated in recent months and we retain the view for the jobless rate to gradually move higher in the second half of 2023," ANZ economists said.

In a further sign of a weakening economy, Jobs and Skills Australia's internet vacancy index released on Wednesday showed job advertisements fell by 2.1 per cent in July.

Over the year, job ads decreased by 4.1 per cent.

Recruitment activity increased over the month across all major occupation groups, except managers and labourers.

The strongest increases were in community and personal service workers (up by 5.6 per cent) and technicians and trades workers (up by 4.6 per cent).

© AAP 2023

Renters and social housing advocates are awaiting the outcomes of a national cabinet meeting where federal, state and territory leaders are under pressure to address a growing crisis.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host his colleagues in Brisbane on Wednesday in the shadow of his government's stalled multi-billion dollar housing fund.

The $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund failed to pass the Senate due to a lack of support from the coalition and Greens, who argue little has been done to adequately address issues experienced by renters.

While the fund would provide 30,000 social and affordable homes in its first five years, the Greens had called for a rent freeze in exchange for their support.

Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather said it would be "extraordinary" if a group of mostly Labor premiers and the prime minister decided they would lock in unlimited rent increases.

"The reality is right now (renters) are facing a more dire crisis financially than at any point - 62 per cent of renters are now in financial stress, that is a record in Australian history since World War II," he told ABC News.

"We're not saying a freeze on rent increases would fix everything, but it's part of a solution."

Housing advocacy body Everybody's Home said national cabinet could start easing the crisis if it introduced strong reforms to protect renters.

"There's no doubt we need more social housing but we also need to fix the unstable and unaffordable private rental market," spokesperson Maiy Azize said.

"Many renters are not only struggling to secure a home but when they have one it's a battle to keep it.

"Landlords have jacked up rents at an extraordinary pace and are getting away with unfairly evicting tenants and providing them with poor-quality homes."

Mr Albanese said he was confident there would be a positive outcome from national cabinet and he was committed to working with leaders on a solution.

There'll be a focus on housing supply as a way of solving the issue.

"We're really hoping (the housing fund) goes through and that the Greens in particular have a rethink and break away from the contradiction," he told Triple M Hobart.

"You can't say you want more public housing and then vote against it."

NSW Premier Chris Minns said tackling the housing crisis would involve a whole of community approach, including industry and all levels of government.

"Ambitious targets are welcome, but this will require a strong federal-state partnership to deliver them," he said.

But Liberal senator Jane Hume said the Commonwealth could not just "throw money" at the states and think the problem would be solved.

She said the federal government needed to set key performance indicators and be transparent about how housing was being delivered.

"(Supply) should be the focus of national cabinet (but) in order to do that you're going to have to bring the states into line and you're going to have to make sure that local councils are also on board with rezoning and opening up new opportunities for building houses," she told Sky News.

© AAP 2023

Renters and social housing advocates are awaiting the outcomes of a national cabinet meeting where federal, state and territory leaders are under pressure to address a growing crisis.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will host his colleagues in Brisbane on Wednesday in the shadow of his government's stalled multi-billion dollar housing fund.

A $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund failed to pass the Senate due to a lack of support from the coalition and Greens, who argue little has been done to adequately address issues experienced by renters.

While the fund would provide 30,000 social and affordable homes in its first five years, the Greens had called for a rent freeze in exchange for their support.

Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather said it would be "extraordinary" if a group of mostly Labor premiers and the prime minister decided they would lock in unlimited rent increases.

"The reality is right now (renters) are facing a more dire crisis financially than at any point, 62 per cent of renters are now in financial stress, that is a record in Australian history since World War II," he told ABC News.

"We're not saying a freeze on rent increases would fix everything, but it's part of a solution."

Housing advocacy body Everybody's Home said national cabinet could start easing the crisis if it introduced strong reforms to protect renters.

"There's no doubt we need more social housing but we also need to fix the unstable and unaffordable private rental market," spokesperson Maiy Azize said.

"Many renters are not only struggling to secure a home but when they have one it's a battle to keep it.

"Landlords have jacked up rents at an extraordinary pace and are getting away with unfairly evicting tenants and providing them with poor-quality homes."

Mr Albanese said he was confident there would be a positive outcome from national cabinet and he was committed to working with leaders on a solution.

There'll be a focus on housing supply as a way of solving the issue.

"We're really hoping (the housing fund) goes through and that The Greens in particular have a rethink and break away from their contradiction," he told Triple M Hobart.

"You can't say you want more public housing and then vote against it."

NSW Premier Chris Minns said he welcomed the focus on housing at national cabinet.

"Tackling the housing crisis will involve a whole of community approach, involving industry and every level of government," he said.

"Ambitious targets are welcome, but this will require a strong federal-state partnership to deliver them."

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton had warned a proposed cap on rent would see less investment in the housing market.

"We want more homes being constructed. We want more supply coming online, not just for renters, but for first time buyers and for others in the marketplace at the moment," he said.

© AAP 2023