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Australian unemployment rate rises
Today, it was revealed that Australia's unemployment rate rose to 5.3 per cent for February, departing slightly from January's revised estimate of 5.2 percent.
It was also found through official statistics that only 400 new jobs created, deduced from that fact that 11,400 full-time jobs were created during the time, only to be offset by the loss of 11,000 part-time employment positions across the nation.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics counts both full and part-time jobs as part of the calculation of employment levels.
Deputy prime minister Julia Gillard told AFP: "I think what these figures are telling us is that this is a steady result. We're seeing employers move to taking on more full-time employees and reducing part-time work."
It follows last week's announcement that during 2009, workers in Australia received the smallest average pay rise in a decade as a result of the decision to freeze minimum wages by the Fair Pay Commission.
Posted by Michael Ewing
