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Australia February Employment Up 36,700 []

3/12/2008 8:54:06 PM The employment picture in Australia improved more than expected last month.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Thursday that the number of employed Australians in February increased by a seasonally adjusted 36,700 over the January figure, to a level of 10,665,500.

Full-time employment increased 47,700 and part-time employment decreased by 11,000.

In the meantime, the number of unemployed Australians decreased by 16,800 to a total of 440,900. The number of people seeking full-time employment dropped by 5,800 and the number seeking part-time work fel by 11,000.

Most analysts had forecast the number of employed to increase 15,000, with an unemployment rate of 4.2%.

The bureau also reported that the workforce participation rate, which measures the proportion of the work age population actively seeking employment, held steady at 65.2 percent.