Australia’s unemployment rate rises to 4.1% reducing chance of another RBA interest rate hike

Workers in Sydney’s CBD. The unemployment rate in April was 4.1% seasonally adjusted, the ABS has announced. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Australia’s jobless rate rose more than expected last month as more people looked for work, easing risks of another Reserve Bank rate hike.

The unemployment rate in April was 4.1%, seasonally adjusted, compared with a revised 3.9% for March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. Economists had predicted the jobless rate would edge higher for a third consecutive month to 3.9%.