Australia’s jobless rate ticked higher to 4.1 per cent in June from 4 per cent in May, landing in line with consensus forecasts.

Another 50,000 jobs were added to the economy in the month, more than the 20,000 employment increase pencilled in by forecasters ahead of the Australian Bureau of Statistics release on Thursday.

“With employment rising by around 50,000 people and the number of unemployed growing by 10,000 people, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.1 per cent, and the participation rate rose to 66.9 per cent,” ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.

Jarvis said the employment-to-population ratio and participation rate are hovering around 2023 highs.

“This, along with the continued high level of job vacancies, suggests the labour market remains relatively tight, despite the unemployment rate being above four per cent since April,” he said.

“The unemployment rate was 0.5 percentage points higher than June last year, and 1.1 percentage points lower than March 2020.”

The Reserve Bank of Australia watches the labour market carefully as it has implications for tackling still-elevated inflation and setting interest rates.

Strength in the jobs market is expected to gradually unwind in an economy already dulled by higher interest rates.

– AAP