Australia's unemployment rate up

Australia’s unemployment rate climbed in February, government data published Thursday showed, but the result matched market forecasts after a downward revision to the prior month’s figure.

Australia’s jobless rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.3% in February, compared with a revised 5.2% in the prior month, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

January’s rate had been previously reported at 5.3%. Market consensus was for a 5.3% reading for February, according to IG Markets.

The number of unemployed people rose by 10,700 to 615,900 in February, while the number of employed rose slightly by 400 to 10.971 million, the ABS reported.

The rise in employment came thanks to an increase in full-time employment, which was offset by a decrease of 11,000 people in part-time employment, the ABS said.

But number of jobs created came in below market expectations. Australia’s employment data showed the creation of 400 jobs versus expectations of 15,000, according to Ben Potter, a market analyst at IG Markets in Melbourne.

The data’s release has “seen forex traders sell the Aussie dollar, as strong data expectations were priced into the market,” said Potter.

Just prior to the release, the Australian dollar was trading around the 91.45 U.S. cents level before falling to a low of 91.15 U.S. cents, he said. The Aussie later pared some of the loss to trade at 91.28 U.S. cents.

Source: Market Watch