Australia's unemployment rate edges up to 6.0 percent

Australia's jobless rate inched up to 6.0 percent in June, official data showed Thursday, as more people entered the labour force and amid signs that companies were hiring additional workers. Some 7,300 jobs were added to the economy, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, with 24,500 new full-time roles and 17,200 fewer part-time positions. The seasonally adjusted data was slightly better than what economists expected. Analysts had forecast the unemployment rate to edge up to 6.1 percent with a loss of 5,000 positions after a strong increase of 42,000 roles in May. The May unemployment rate was revised down to 5.9 percent from 6.0 percent by the statistics bureau. The Australian dollar rose one-third of a US cent after the data was released to 74.55 US cents.