Australia's unemployment rate has edged up to 4.6 per cent, the highest level in almost five years. An extra 39,500 people were in a job in August while 28,200 more were unemployed, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday. As a result, the participation rate climbed 0.2 percentage points to a near-record high 67.1 per cent. The participation jump clouded the signal from the release, with the jobless rate and the employment gain both exceeding expectations. The forecasting consensus had been for the unemployment rate to hold steady at 4.5 per cent and an increase in employment of 20,000 jobs. #fyp #auspol #work #australia