CANBERRA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Australia's unemployment rate rose slightly in March, according to official figures published on Thursday.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said that the official unemployment rate was 4.1 percent in March, up from 4.0 percent in February.

In trend terms, which smooths out seasonal fluctuations in employment, the rate has remained at 4.0 percent for five consecutive months, the ABS said.

It said that the number of employed Australians has increased by 308,000 people, or 2.2 percent, over the last 12 months, slightly higher than the pre-pandemic 20-year average of 2.0 percent.

The number of employed Australians increased by 32,200 between February and March, the ABS said, which was slightly offset by the number of unemployed people rising by 3,000 in the same period.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers said he was "delighted" with the figures.

"These job numbers are really powerful and a demonstration of the progress that we've made together on the economy," he told reporters in Brisbane while campaigning for the general election on May 3.

Sean Crick, head of labor statistics at the ABS, said that the employment-to-population ratio remained at 64.1 percent in March while the participation rate, which measures the portion of the working-age population that is either employed or actively looking for work, rose slightly to 66.8 percent.

Despite the net increase in employment, Crick said that the total number of hours worked by Australians was down by 0.3 percent in March, which he attributed to major weather events in the states of New South Wales and Queensland, including the severe Tropical Cyclone Alfred. Enditem

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