National jobs figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today revealed a significant rebound in the employment market, confirming the underlying strength of the Australian economy.

The number of full-time jobs in Australia surged by 59,000 in June as the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9 per cent.

“Since Labor has come to office, over 750,000 jobs have been created, and in the past year an extra 222,000 people have found work,” Minister for Jobs, Senator Chris Evans said today.

“This is an outstanding result and we welcome the fact that more Australians are in work and looking for work.”

“Most pleasingly, more than 90 per cent of the jobs created in the past year have been full-time jobs.”

The total number of Australians employed increased by 23,400 in June, which was at the higher end of market expectations. The participation rate also rose to 65.6 per cent.

According to Senator Evans, “Australia’s unemployment rate remains dramatically lower than most other developed economies.”

The better than expected figures prompted the Australian dollar to rally to $US1.074 from $US1.069. The news comes only two days after the Reserve Bank decided to keep interest rates on hold at 4.75 per cent as it warned employment growth would start to slow in Australia.