Australia Jobs Growth Speeds Ahead, Nudges Unemployment Lower

Mixologist Thor Bergquist makes handcrafted sodas at his cocktail bar PS40 in Sydney, Australia. Alana Dimou

SYDNEY—Australia enjoyed another month of solid jobs growth in September, with the annual pace of gains sprinting ahead to a healthy 3.1 percent and nudging the unemployment rate lower.

Data out on Thursday showed the unemployment rate slipped to 5.5 percent, compared with analysts’ expectations for a steady 5.6 percent. That was the lowest reading since May, which itself was the lowest since early 2013.