Australia’s unemployment rate edged 0.3 per cent lower to 5.0 per cent in September, bettering market expectations.

The number of people with a job increased by 5600 on seasonally adjusted estimates, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show.

Economists had forecast that the unemployment rate would be unchanged.

The last time the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was this low was April 2012, and the last time it was lower was June 2011’s 4.9 per cent.

But it wasn’t all good news, with fewer people in part-time work pushing down the participation rate.

South Australia’s rate – seasonally adjusted – dropped from 5.7 per cent in August to 5.5 per cent in September.

Only Victoria and NSW recorded lower unemployment rates.

However, South Australia’s participation rate – the proportion of the population either in work or actively looking for a job – also fell slightly (down 0.2 percentage points to 62.0 per cent).

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

The more stable trend rate of unemployment was unchanged on 5.6 per cent.

State Minister for Industry and Skills David Pisoni said he wasn’t satisifed with the unemployment rate, despite South Australia doing better than three other states.

“Today’s figures again show that the South Australian economy is robust and growing, as business confidence and consumer confidence in SA remains strong, but there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Pisoni said.

“The Marshall Government remains focused on lowering costs for businesses and households, and delivering policy settings that encourage industry to invest and create more jobs.”

– with AAP