Employment rose strongly again in April by nearly 50,000 jobs, pushing the Australian unemployment rate down 0.1 of a percentage point to 4.4%.

ABS figures released this month show seasonally adjusted employment increased by 49,600 to 10,416,600. Both full and part time employment rose, with full-time up 11,600 to 7,453,300, and part-time employment up by 38,000 to 2,963,400.

The participation rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 64.9%.

In New Zealand, the Department of Labour says it expects the labour market to continue to ease until later this year.

The DOL says with economic growth at seven-year lows, employment has been in decline since the second half of 2006. However, a fall in the participation rate held the unemployment rate at 3.7%.

DOL expects the labour market to continue to show the effects of the recent economic downturn in the short-term, before improving slightly later in the year.

It says the unemployment rate will remain around the 4% mark.