Australia’s job market absorbs Victoria’s virus relapse

SYDNEY: Australia added almost four times as many jobs as forecast in July as the economy’s recovery in areas where the coronavirus pandemic is under control withstood Victoria’s renewed lockdown and concern about the infection spreading.

Employment surged by 114,700 from June, when it advanced an upwardly revised 228,400, compared to an expected gain of 30,000, data from the statistics bureau showed yesterday in Sydney. The jobless rate edged up to 7.5%, the highest level since November 1998, as more people re-entered the labour force, pushing the participation rate to 64.7% from 64.1% in June.