Australia’s unemployment rate ticked higher in November at 3.8% but hiring numbers also up

Joblessness rate rose despite 61,500 new jobs because the number of people seeking work also grew strongly

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates
• Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Australia’s employers went on a late-year hiring binge in November, adding an extra 2,000 people per day even in a month that included a Reserve Bank interest rate rise.

The economy added 61,500 jobs last month, all but 4,500 of them full-time ones, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. Economists had forecast the economy would swell their workforces by 11,500 jobs.