Australian Jobless Rate Jumps to 6.4% in January
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Australian unemployment climbed to a 12 1/2-year high, sending the currency lower and underscoring last week’s decision to cut interest rates to a fresh record low.
The jobless rate rose to 6.4 percent from 6.1 percent, the statistics bureau said in Sydney today. That was the worst since August 2002 and exceeded the median estimate of 6.2 percent from a survey of 27 economists. The number of people employed fell by 12,200, led by declines in eastern states.