Australia adds 21,600 jobs in December, jobless rate drops to 5.0%

Australian unemployment rate dropped to 5.0 percent in December, even as the economy added 21,600 jobs, the latest data published by the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed this Thursday. The markets were expecting a job addition of 16,500.  Employment for the previous month was 37,000 addition.

Meanwhile, full-time jobs came in at -3,000 compared to -6,400 seen in November. The part-time employment rose 24,600 versus 43,400 last. The participation rate slipped to 65.6% in the reported month versus 65.7% previous.