Australia's jobless rate falls to 5.1 percent

SYDNEY — Australia's mining-led economy created another 30,900 jobs in August, pushing unemployment down to 5.1 percent and boosting the likelihood of higher interest rates, figures showed Thursday.The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said the jobless rate fell 0.2 percentage points after a surprise rise in July, bettering analyst forecasts of 5.2 percent.The buoyant statistics sent share prices 0.9 percent higher, while the Australian dollar reached a four-month high of 92.18 US cents on expectations the central bank will hike interest rates."The Australian economy is clearly on fire. They are creating jobs at break-neck speed," HSBC economist Frederic Neumann told Dow Jones Newswires.Official figures this month showed surging annual growth of 3.3 percent after a 1.2 percent rise in the second quarter, which was the biggest leap in three years.But the Reserve Bank of Australia this week left rates on hold at 4.50 percent for the fourth consecutive month, saying inflation was close to its target and the global outlook was uncertain.Employment Minister Simon Crean said falling unemployment was "unambiguously good news" and came despite "worrying signs in other parts of the world"."This is another demonstration of the strength of the Australian economy," he told reporters.Booming coal and iron ore exports to Asian countries such as China helped Australia skirt the financial crisis without entering recession, earning it the tag the "wonder from Down Under". Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

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