Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said here on Thursday that a sharp jump in the jobless rate would have been worse if the government had not made the stimulus measures to save the economy.

The Australian government is predicting the jobless rate will rise to 5.5 percent by June and to 7.0 percent 12 months later.

New data showed the jobless rate rose to its highest level in nearly four years at 5.2 percent in February. The rise in the unemployment follows a spike to 4.8 percent in January, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released on Thursday.

"Any job loss is one too many as far as I am concerned," Rudd told reporters in Canberra, adding that had we waited and done nothing ... these unemployment figures would have been a lot worse. "

The data also showed the number of people employed rose by a slim 1,800, although those in full-time employment slumped by 53, 800.

(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2009)