AUSTRALIA SET TO GROW, BUT UNEMPLOYMENT MAY RISE Australia's economy should manage modest growth over the next two years after a sharp slowdown but unemployment could still edge upwards, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said. The organisation's latest half-yearly report says Gross Domestic Product will grow by 2.5 pct this year and by 2.75 pct in 1988 compared with only 1.4 pct in 1986. The growth will be helped by higher stockbuilding and stronger domestic demand following tax cuts and higher real wages, it added. The report forecasts a decline in inflation, with consumer prices increasing by 8.5 pct this year and 6.25 pct in 1988. The current account deficit shows signs of easing slightly and could narrow to 12 billion dlrs by the end of 1988. While predicting slightly stronger growth than last year, however, the report revises downwards the OECD's earlier growth forecast for 1987 of 3.75 pct. The OECD predicts a similar combination of modest economic growth and rising unemployment for New Zealand, which is struggling to recover from a major economic crisis. The country's GDP, which contracted by 0.6 pct last year, should again show growth over the next two years, rising by 0.25 pct this year and a more substantial 2.75 pct in 1988.