Australian unemployment steady at 5.4%

Australia's unemployment rate remained steady at a two-and-a-half-year high of 5.4 percent in October, data showed Thursday, with the number of people employed increasing by more than 10,000. The figure is the same as September, which was the highest since April 2010, and slightly below analyst expectations. The number of those in full-time work grew by 18,900 to 8.13 million, although that was offset by an 8,000 decline in part-time jobs to 3.393 million. Overall, the economy created 10,700 jobs, with the participation rate -- the proportion of working-age people actively looking for jobs -- dipping to 65.1 percent from 65.2 percent in September. The result saw the Australian dollar climb to 104.27 US cents, up from 103.94 cents immediately before the data release. The stock market recovered from earlier heavier losses to be 0.75 percent lower in early afternoon trade.