Unemployment falls despite job losses

By Business editor Peter Ryan

There's more unexpected good news on the economy, with the jobless rate falling to 5.1 per cent.

However, the lower unemployment rate in August comes despite the loss of 8,800 jobs.

The surprise result defied predictions of a rise in unemployment to 5.3 percent and follows yesterday's GDP figures which confirm 21 years of continuous economic growth in Australia.

Key results:

Unemployment       5.1 percent
Employment           -8,800
Participation rate     65.0 per cent