Australia's Jobless Rate Hits Five-Year High Amid Imminent Interest Rate Hike Bets

Australia's jobless rate unexpectedly rose to a five-year high in August, reaching 4.6% as employment rebounded by 39,500 jobs from July.

The increase was driven entirely by part-time roles, while the participation rate climbed to 67.1%, up 0.2 percentage points.

Despite this, markets still expect an imminent interest rate hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to fight inflation, with a 95% probability implied for a fourth rate increase next Tuesday.

The Australian dollar slipped another 0.3% to US$0.7018, a seven-week low after heavy losses overnight.

Oscar Guth, economist for Oxford Economics Australia, said employment growth failed to keep pace with the influx of people into the labour force in August, easing some of the tightness in the labour market.