A softer-than-expected jobs report suggests Australia's labour market is starting to loosen and may take some pressure off the central bank's aggressive interest rate hikes.
The official unemployment rate lifted from 3.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent in January, returning to its highest point in nine months.
About 11,500 jobs were lost from the economy, Australian Bureau of Statistics jobs data showed, the second month in a row of falling employment.
