Strong job growth, jobless rate steady

SYDNEY: The unemployment rate stayed at a decade high of 6% in February, but there are plenty of signs of improvement in the jobs market in Australia.
The number of people with jobs rose by 47,300 in the month – the biggest rise in nearly two years – following a gain of 2,700 in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said yesterday.
The participation rate – the proportion of the population that have a job, are looking for work or are ready to start work, rose to 64.8%, from 64.6% in January, the ABS said.
RBC Capital Markets currency strategist Michael Turner described the figures as “stellar” and said the rise in the participation rate is a welcome development, given how much it had fallen recently. – AAP
“There’s still a bit of slack in the labour force but the trend in employment looks to have improved noticeably over the past six months,” he said.