The unemployment rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 5.6 percent in September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.
That was beneath forecasts for 5.7 percent, which would have been unchanged from the previous month following a revision from 5.6 percent.
The Australian economy lost 9,800 jobs last month - well shy of expectations for an increase of 15,000 following the loss of 8,600 jobs in August.
The participation rate fell to 64.5 percent versus expectations for 64.8 percent and down from 64.7 percent a month earlier.
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