/www.bloomberg.com/ By Victoria Batchelor
Sydney, Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's economy lost jobs in September, following the biggest increase in hiring in 11 years in August, as a drought and slowing global economic growth prompted some employers to fire part-time workers.
The economy shed 30,700 jobs last month, the Bureau of Statistics said. The median expectation in a Bloomberg News survey of 22 economists was for a 25,000 drop in employment. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.2 percent as fewer people looked for work.
The worst drought in 100 years has cost the farming industry 40,000 jobs in New South Wales state the past three months, the Farmers' Association reported today. And the sputtering world economy will convince the central bank to keep interest rates unchanged for the rest of the year, some economists say.
``It's the global outlook that's keeping the central bank on hold,'' said Tony Meer, senior economist at Deutsche Bank AG in Sydney. The drought and ``global weakness is to some degree offsetting a very strong domestic economy.''
The Reserve Bank of Australia kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged last week for a fourth month. Eleven of 22 economists expect it to keep the rate at 4.75 percent for the rest of the year.
Australian bonds extended gains and the currency was little changed after the report. The yield on the 6.5 percent bond maturing in May 2013 fell 7 basis points to 5.43 percent at 1:30 p.m. Sydney time from 5.50 percent just before the report's release. A basis point equals 0.01 percentage points.
Full-Time Jobs
The Australian dollar was buying 54.81 U.S. cents at 1:30 p.m., down from 54.87 U.S. cents before the report.
``The Reserve Bank is unlikely to resume raising interest rates until global uncertainty abates,'' said Alan Oster, chief economist at National Australia Bank Ltd.
The economy added 11,700 full-time jobs in September and lost 42,400 part-time positions. The so-called participation rate, which measures the number of the people with jobs or looking for work, fell to 63.5 percent from 63.8 percent in August. All figures are seasonally adjusted.
A National Australia Bank survey this week showed miners and businesses supplying the farming industry reported they shed workers in September.
Among companies announcing job cuts in September, St.George Bank Ltd., Australia's fifth-largest lender, said it was firing 390 workers to cut costs, and L'Oreal SA, the world's largest cosmetics maker, said it will close its Australia manufacturing plant in Melbourne with the loss of 82 jobs.
Hilton Group Plc, which owns the Hilton hotel brand outside the U.S., fired 467 workers at its central Sydney hotel, which is closing for a A$140 million renovation ($77 million).
`Report Misleading'
``The jobs report is quite misleading'' because the fall follows the huge surge in employment in August, said Annette Beacher, an economist at Salomon Smith Barney/Citibank Ltd. ``It is certainly not an indication of a slowing economy.''
The 88,500 jobs added in August was three times economists' expectations, which was why they expected some payback in today's figures.
The jobless rate has fallen from 7 percent in January as a surge in retail sales and a construction boom prompted companies to hire more workers.
A separate labor market report published earlier this week suggests the jobs market may pick up in coming months.
Job vacancies advertised in newspapers in the country's eight biggest cities rose 3.2 percent last month from August to an average 21,682 a week, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said. The number of jobs advertised rose 10.7 percent from a year earlier, the bank said.