February jobless rate ticks down to 4.9%

Australia's unemployment rate edged down in February to a seasonally adjusted 4.9 per cent.

Australia's unemployment rate edged down in February to 4.9% (AAP)

Australia's unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points in February to a seasonally adjusted 4.9 per cent, but the number of people in full-time work also dropped.

Part-time employment drove an overall increase in the number of people with jobs during the month, but data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a 7,300 drop in the number of people employed full-time.

But the ABS said on Thursday it had to use previous data for the Townsville area because of the February floods and may reassess once March figures have been collated.

People in employment in Townsville accounted for about one per cent of all those employed in Australia in 2018, and about four per cent of those in Queensland.

"The imputation may have resulted in a slight overestimation of hours worked in Queensland in February 2019, given hours worked in Townsville may have been lower during the floods," the ABS said.

The Australian dollar rose after the data's release, from 71.32 to 71.60 US cents by 1150 AEDT.