Australian jobs rise a steady result: minister

A slight rise in the unemployment rate is a "steady result" for the Australian jobs market, federal Employment Minister Julia Gillard told reporters on Thursday in Canberra.

Australian Statistic Bureau released earlier Thursday jobless rate in February rose 0.1 percent to 5.3 percent while Gillard said a slight growth in the number of hours worked was another good sign and called it a steady result.

"We are seeing employers move to taking on more full-time employees and reducing part-time work," Gillard said. The figures showed more workers were shifting from part-time to full-time work, while others were working longer hours.

Gillard said it was a good thing that workers had been able to hold onto their jobs through the crisis. "I would thank employers, employees and unions who have worked together for that result for their efforts."

Gillard said 615,800 people were unemployed and 128,000 of them had lost their jobs due to the financial crisis. "That means that there's more work to do, more work to do to make sure that Australians around the country get the benefits of work," she said.

The national jobless rate edged up to 5.3 percent in February from a downwardly revised 5.2 percent in January with only 400 jobs added in all. A rise in the number of full-time jobs of 11, 400 was offset by the loss of part time positions of 11,000. Australian economists previously predicted the jobless rate will edge up to 5.4 percent.

Source:Xinhua