Australian unemployment rate rises to 4.3%

AUSTRALIA’S unemployment rate rose to 4.3 per cent in February, according to official data, defying economists’ expectations that it would remain steady. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said on Thursday that the official unemployment rate hit 4.3 per cent in February, up from 4.1 per cent in January. According to the ABS, the number of employed Australians rose by 48,900 between January and February, which was offset by the number of unemployed Australians increasing by 35,000, or 5.6 per cent, in the same period. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Australian Associated Press reported earlier on Thursday that economists were expecting the unemployment rate to remain at 4.1 per cent in February. The increase in employment was driven by part-time employment, which grew by 79,400, while the number of people employed full-time decreased by 30,500. As a result, the total number of hours worked by Australians was 0.2 per cent lower in February than in January. — Xinhua

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