Australia’s unemployment rate has risen slightly in June, albeit it from a downwardly revised May figure, as the number of new jobs in the economy increased marginally. The unemployment figure rose to 6 per cent in June, after an increase in the number of unemployed people outstripped a slight rise in added job numbers over the month, according to data released this morning from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The result, however, beats economists’ expectations, thanks to a downwardly revised jobless rate in May. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast the unemployment rate to lift to 6.1 per cent in June, predicting a completely flat result for jobs added to the economy during the month.
The ABS originally reported May’s unemployment rate as a 12-month low of 6 per cent, but downwardly revised that figure to 5.9 per cent, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The ABS said the total number of people employed in Australia increased by only 7300 to 11.769 million in June, on a seasonally adjusted basis.
