Australia April employment unexpectedly falls, jobless rate ticks up

SYDNEY  – Australia employment unexpectedly dipped in April, following two months of outsized gains, while the jobless rate also ticked up, in a sign that the red-hot labor market might be cooling.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed net employment fell 4,300 in April from March, when they rebounded by a revised 61,100. Market forecasts had been for a rise of 25,000.

The jobless rate ticked up to 3.7 percent, when analysts had expected a steady 3.5 percent.

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