Jobless rate falls to 5.2 per cent

The Australian jobless rate fell to 5.2 per cent in May as 26,900 workers joined the workforce. The rate was 5.4 per cent in April.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics report also showed aggregate hours worked by employed people in Australia rose by 2.9 per cent in May, seasonally adjusted.

It was the biggest one-month rise in hours worked recorded since May 1988. This followed falls of 0.5 per cent in March and 0.8 per cent in April.

Aggregate hours worked were up by 4.2 per cent from May 2009 and, after the rise in May, have now exceeded the previous all-time high set in July 2008.

A survey of economists' forecasts by news agency AAP had centred on a 15,000 rise in employment with the unemployment rate remaining at 5.4 per cent in May.