20.02.201919:45:00UTC+00Australia Jobless Rate Steady At 5.0% In January

The unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 5.0 percent in January, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - unchanged and in line with expectations.

The Australian economy added 31,900 jobs last month - blowing away forecasts for an increase of 15,000 jobs following the gain of 16,900 jobs in December.

The participation rate was 65.7 percent, exceeding expectations for 65.6 percent - which would have been unchanged from the previous month.

Monthly hours worked in all jobs increased 6.6 million hours to 1766.4 million hours.