The unemployment rate has held steady at 4.1 per cent for the third month in a row, as expected.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded a 15,900 employment increase in October – short of the 25,000 gain pencilled in by forecasters – ending a run of upside surprises on job creation.

“With employment rising by around 16,000 people and the number of unemployed up by around 8,000, the unemployment rate remained at 4.1 per cent,” ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said.

“This is around 0.6 percentage points above its recent low of 3.5 per cent in June 2023, but is 1.1 percentage points below March 2020, when it was 5.2 per cent.”

The jobs market has proven to be resilient even as the Australian economy slows.

For those waiting for interest rate cuts, the strength of the labour market means the Reserve Bank of Australia may be in no hurry to lower the cash rate and will wait for further progress on inflation.

-AAP