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Jobs section in newspaper - Source: ONE News
Australia's jobless rate edged up to 5.3% in February from a downwardly revised 5.2% cent in January, with the number of people employed barely rising.
It is the first rise in the jobless rate since it peaked at 5.8% last October.
Just 400 jobs, seasonally adjusted, were added to the workforce in February, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed on Thursday.
There were 11,400 full-time jobs created, but these were partly offset by an 11,000 drop in part-time workers.
Economists had expected the jobless rate to edge up to 5.4% with 10,000 jobs being created in February.
The rise was led by a jump to 6.4% in Tasmania, from 5.3% the previous month.
The unemployment rate also rose in South Australia, to 4.7% from 4.4%, and in Queensland, to 5.7% from 5.5%.
In the ACT, the rate rose to 3.9% from 3.8%.
However, the jobless rate in NSW fell to 5.4% from 5.6% and in the Northern Territory it declined to 3.2% from 3.3%.
The rates in Western Australia and Victoria were both unchanged at 5.0% and 5.3% respectively.
