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CANBERRA - A further 44,600 jobs were added to the economy in December, but not by enough to reduce the unemployment rate, which remained at a 30-year low of 4.6 per cent.
The seasonally adjusted rise in employment in data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today included 17,700 new full-time workers in December.
Economists had expected employment to rise by just 15,000, with the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.7 per cent.
The tight labour market conditions means there is still a risk that the central bank may be forced to raise interest rates again in the coming months.
Forward indicators of employment released this week -- ANZ job ads and the ABS's job vacancies series -- have suggested that the extraordinary strength in new jobs in 2006 will continue into 2007.
In New South Wales the unemployment rate fell to 5.0 per cent in December from 5.2 per cent in November, while in Victoria it rose to 5.0 per cent from 4.8 per cent.
In Queensland, the jobless rate fell to 4.0 per cent from 4.2 per cent, but in South Australia it jumped to 5.6 per cent from 5.2 per cent.
The unemployment rate in Western Australia fell to 3.1 per cent from 3.2 per cent, while in Tasmania it rose to 6.1 per cent from 6.0 per cent and in the Northern Territory is was 2.4 per cent versus 2.6 per cent previously.
In the ACT, the unemployment rate rose to 3.1 per cent from 3.0 per cent.
- AAP
