Unemployment rate steady at 5.8 per cent in April

AUSTRALIA’S unemployment rate was steady at 5.8 per cent in April, official figures show.

The unemployment rate stayed steady in April.

AUSTRALIA’S unemployment rate was steady at 5.8 per cent in April, official figures show.

The total number of people with jobs rose 14,200 to 11.573 million in the month, according to seasonally adjusted figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. The median forecast for the unemployment rate was 5.9 per cent in April, with 8,000 more people with jobs, according to an AAP survey of 11 market economists.

Full-time employment rose 14,200 to 8.045 million in April and part-time employment was unchanged at 3.528 million.

The participation rate — the proportion of the population that have a job, are looking for work or are ready to start work fell to 64.7 per cent, from 64.8 per cent in March.

Originally published as Unemployment rate steady at 5.8 per cent in April