Australia employment posts surprise fall in Feb, jobless rate steady at 4.1%

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian employment posted a surprise fall in February although the jobless rate stayed unchanged, a soft result that sent the local dollar lower.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed net employment fell 52,800 in February from January. That was well under market forecasts for a 30,000 rise.

The jobless rate stayed at 4.1%, matching market expectations.

The Australian dollar slipped 0.3% to $0.6341 after the data.

(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Himani Sarkar)