By Zac de Silva and Andrew Brown in Canberra

Australia’s unemployment rate held steady in January, with nearly 18,000 new jobs created in the first month of 2026.

The jobless rate remains at 4.1 per cent after a fall in December took forecasters by surprise.

Economists had been forecasting the figure to tick back up.

Australian Bureau of Statistics head of labour statistics Sean Crick said an extra 50,000 people had found full-time work, but that was partly offset by a drop in the number of people in part-time employment.

The Reserve Bank has been warning about tightness in the nation’s labour market – a fear the January figures will do little to allay.

A number of other crucial data points will be released before the RBA’s next interest rate decision in March, including inflation figures later in February.

The central bank raised the official cash rate by 25 basis points during its meeting at the start of February, imposing more pain on borrowers in a bid to tackle rising inflation.

Wage figures released on Wednesday showed pay packets were not keeping up with inflation.

Seasonally adjusted wages rose to 3.4 per cent for the year to December, but below the 3.8 per cent for annual inflation.

It’s the first time there has been a drop in real wages since September 2023.