(MENAFN) Australia's jobless rate surged to its highest point since late 2021, according to official figures released Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), signaling a potential cooling in the labor market.

In its latest labor force report, the ABS revealed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed to 4.5 percent in September, marking the most elevated level since November 2021.

Revised data also showed that the August unemployment rate was increased to 4.3 percent, up from the previously reported 4.2 percent.

The rise comes in contrast to projections by the Reserve Bank of Australia, which stated in August that it expects the unemployment rate to "stabilize at around 4.3 percent through 2026 and 2027."

Between August and September, the number of unemployed Australians rose sharply by 33,900, a 5.2 percent jump in seasonally adjusted terms. This outweighed the modest employment gain of 14,900 over the same period.

Despite the uptick in unemployment, workforce engagement remained strong. "The labor force participation rate increased to 67.0 percent in September, just below the record-high of 67.2 percent in January," said Sean Crick, head of labor statistics at the ABS.

Total hours worked across the country also edged up by 0.5 percent from August to September, reflecting some resilience in overall labor activity.

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