Australian Job Gains Hit Multi-Year Low After Rare November Drop

Australia’s economy unexpectedly shed jobs in November, putting it on track for the weakest annual employment gain since 2016 — excluding the pandemic — and potentially allowing the Reserve Bank to extend an interest-rate pause in the face of sticky inflation.

Government bond yields and the Australian dollar declined Thursday as official data showed employment fell by 21,300, confounding expectations for a similar-sized gain. The jobless rate held at 4.3% compared with economists’ 4.4% forecast as fewer people sought work.

So far this year, jobs have grown at an average annual pace of 1.9% — the weakest reading in 11 ...