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Unemployment numbers rise worldwide

The first decline in more than a year for jobs in Australia took place in September 2005, as manufacturers and banks dismissed workers there in order to cut costs, the Australian government in Canberra said Thursday. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that 42,300 jobs were lost last month, with the jobless rate rising to 5.1% from 5%, which was a 29 year low in August of this year.

Full-time employment declined by 25,900 in September and part-time positions fell 16,500, Thursday`s report showed, and the report wasn`t all that surprising as unemployment rates in both the United States and Europe have also seen a rise as of late. The American unemployment rate climbed to 5.1 percent in September, from a four-year low of 4.9 percent, and in the 12 nation euro-zone unemployment rose in August to 8.6 percent from 8.5 percent.

South Korea has also seen jobless rates rise, as the number of people without jobs there rose to 870,000 in September, from 843,000 in August 2005. South Korea`s jobless rate stood at 3.6 percent in September, as number of people employed or seeking work rose to 23.9 million from 23.7 million the previous month.