Jobless rate rises to 6.1%

A FLOOD of Queenslanders hit the job market last month, pushing the unemployment rate to the highest in Australia at 6.1 per cent.

The increase in jobseekers was offset by a surge in new jobs. An extra 20,000 jobs were created last month, but all of them were part-time, with a loss of 6700 full-time jobs.

Conus economist Pete Faulkner said Queensland’s run of positive jobs growth had stretched to 15 months. “However, jobs growth, despite still sitting at 4.7 per cent year-onyear, has slowed sharply in recent months,’’ he said.

Nationally, the jobless rate fell slightly to 5.5 per cent.