Australian unemployment jumps to 5.4%

AUSTRALIA: Australia’s unemployment rate rose to an almost two-and-a-half-year high of 5.4 percent in September, data showed Thursday, with the rise largely blamed on more people looking for work.

The bigger-than-expected figure is well up from August’s 5.1 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said, while it is also the highest since April 2010.

The number of people in full-time work increased 32,100 to 8.107 million, although that was was offset by a 17,700 decline in part-time jobs to 3.404 million.

Overall about 14,500 jobs were created, with analysts saying the jump in the unemployment rate was because of a 0.2 percentage point rise to 65.2 percent in the proportion of working-age Australians in or looking for a job.

The result saw the Australian dollar climb more than a quarter of a US cent to US$1.0257, while the share market pared some of its earlier losses. The jobs figures come after the central bank last week cut interest rates to 3.25 percent to help stimulate the economy.

Rates are now at their lowest level since the global financial crisis, with the bank warning that the growth outlook for next year had weakened.

AFP