<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia's unemployment rate has risen to 4.5 per cent in April, surprising market watchers who largely expected the jobless rate to remain steady.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed that the number of employed people fell by 19,000 in April, while the number of unemployed people rose by 33,000.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The ASX200 rallied strongly soon after the result, as many suspect a weakening labour market would urge the RBA to hold or delay any further interest rate hikes.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-may-21-donald-trump-latest-world-news-headlines/525613a3-c84c-4e08-8d87-94949382211a"><strong><span>Trump call that set Netanyahu's 'hair on fire'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The figure of 4.5 per cent is the highest the unemployment rate has been since late 2021.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sean Crick, ABS head of labour statistics, said the falls in employment were similar across both full-time and part-time roles.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Compared to what we usually see in April, more people remained unemployed this month," he said.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/finance/australia-unemployment-rate-rises-in-april-2026/594c818c-899e-4b83-afd5-cc3a8d1eb3a6" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Both full-time and part-time employment fell, by 11,000 and 8,000 people respectively."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>More to come ...</span></em></div></div>