Australian jobs hit record as stocks, currency soar

Australian employment has hit a record high of 11.1 million people at work, official data showed Thursday, sending the dollar and stock market soaring on renewed confidence in the economy's resilience.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the economy had created 45,900 jobs in June, enabling unemployment to hold steady at 5.1 percent and matching May's rate, which was revised down from 5.2 percent.

The number of new jobs far outstripped economists' forecasts of 15,000 and pushed the total to the highest on record, a far cry from ongoing employment woes in other advanced nations.

Employment Minister Simon Crean said resource-rich Australia's economy had produced employment which was the "envy" of many rival countries. (more)