Employment rose by 12,900 in January

CANBERRA, AAP – LABOUR FORCE DATA FOR JANUARY:

* Unemployment rate – Unchanged at 4.2 per cent compared to December

* Underemployment rate (employed people seeking additional work) – 6.7 per cent versus 6.6 per cent

* Employment – rose 12,900

* Full-time positions – down 17,000

* Part-time employment – rose 30,000

* Participation rate (people working or looking for work) – 66.2 per cent versus 66.1 per cent

* Monthly hours worked in all jobs – fell 8.8 per cent or 159 million hours

STATE UNEMPLOYMENT RATES:

NSW – 4.2 per cent in January versus 4.0 per cent in December

VIC – 4.1 per cent versus 4.3 per cent

QLD – 4.4 per cent versus 4.7 per cent

SA – 4.8 per cent versus 3.9 per cent

WA – 3.7 per cent versus 3.4 per cent

TAS – 3.8 per cent versus 4.0 per cent

NT – 3.8 per cent versus 4.2 per cent

ACT – 3.2 per cent versus 4.5 per cent

(Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)