Jobless rate ticks down to 5.5 per cent The jobless rate has unexpectedly fallen after a modest rise in the number of people in work, lessening the urgency for the central bank to cut interest rates again. The unemployment rate came in at 5.5 per cent for May, down from April's upwardly revised rate of 5.6 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. A total of 1100 people joined the workforce in May, mainly reflecting a 6400 rise in part-time work against a 5300 fall in full-time employment. Economists had expected a 10,000 fall, with an unemployment rate of 5.6 per cent. The chance of another interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia remains, but the latest data could see the likely timeframe pushed out. The May data also comes during a week when there has been news of further job losses in the media industry and after retailer Target said it would shed 200 jobs at its Geelong head office. Some economists have raised their unemployment rate forecasts and expect it could hit six per cent this year. Speaking ahead of the jobs data, Treasurer Wayne Swan said more than 950,000 jobs had been created that over the past five years over and during a period of difficulty in the global economy. "What we will continue to do, as we did in the budget, is to do everything we can to grow our economy to support jobs and jobs security," he told reporters on the NSW Central Coast. The unemployment rate in the nation's most populous state of NSW, rose to 5.6 per cent in May from 5.3 per cent in April. It also rose to 5.8 per cent from 5.7 per cent in Queensland, and to 5.9 per cent from 5.8 per cent in South Australia. However, the jobless rate dropped in Victoria to 5.4 per cent from 5.8 per cent, and fell in Western Australia to 4.9 per cent from 5.3 per cent. Tasmania also saw a drop, 7.3 per cent from 7.5 per cent. Among the territories, the rate fell to 4.1 per cent from 4.2 per cent in the ACT, and rose to 5.1 per cent from 4.8 per cent in the Northern Territory.