Unemployment rate falls to 3.5% as the economy adds 32,600 jobs in June on latest ABS figures

The employment rate announcement is linked to RBA-set interest rates and the resilience of the economy. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Australia’s employers added 32,600 more jobs last month as the economy maintained its resilience despite a leap in interest rates.

Australia’s unemployment rate in June was 3.5%, the Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. Economists had expected the rate to remain unchanged for the month from May’s 3.6% tally, with a net 15,000 positions added. The ABS revised May’s rate down to 3.5%, not far shy of last October’s 3.4%, the lowest since the mid-1970s.