Canberra, Feb 19 || Australia's unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1 per cent in January, according to official data released on Thursday.
The latest monthly labour force data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that the number of Australians employed on a full-time basis increased by 50,500 between December and January, which was partially offset by a fall in part-time employment of 32,700 people, News Agency reported.
The official unemployment rate remained at 4.1 per cent in January after it fell from 4.3 per cent from November to December.
Economists were widely expecting the unemployment rate to rise slightly to 4.2 per cent in January, according to local media.
The ABS said that the participation rate, which measures the proportion of the working-age population who are either employed or actively looking for work, was 66.7 per cent in January compared to a record-high 67.3 per cent recorded 12 months earlier.
The total number of hours worked by Australians increased by 0.6 per cent between December and January to 2.01 billion.
On February 3, Australia's central bank raised its key interest rate for the first time in more than two years in response to a spike in inflation.