Aussie employment surprisingly falls in September, stirs rate risk

Sydney

AUSTRALIAN employment unexpectedly fell 9,800 in September as firms shed a huge 53,000 full-time jobs, a disappointing report that slugged the local dollar and could rekindle speculation of further rate cuts.

Thursday's data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the unemployment rate stayed at a three-year trough of 5.6 per cent, but only because more people stopped looking for work. Indeed, the participation rate dropped to its lowest since May 2014 at 65.5 per cent.

The fall in employment in September was also the second straight month of declines and confounded analyst forecasts for a ri…