The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Australia fell to 3.5% in February, down by 0.5% when compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Compared to the previous month, the unemployment rate also fell by 0.2% from 3.7% in January as employment increased over the month by around 64,600 people and unemployment decreased by 16,500 people. The bureau’s head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said the numbers represent a return to December levels.

“The February increase in employment follows consecutive falls in December and January. In January, this reflected a larger than usual number of people waiting to start a new job, the majority of whom returned to or commenced their jobs in February,” said Jarvis.

According to the bureau, the number of unemployed persons stood at 507,500, while the number of people employed was at 13,826,200.

By state, the Northern Territory recorded the highest unemployment rate at 4.6%, followed by Western Australia. Queensland and South Australia both posted unemployment rates of 3.8%. New South Wales had the lowest unemployment rate of 3.2%.

Overall, the labour participation rate increased over the year by 0.2% in February and over the month by 0.1%, data shows, indicating the labour market is further returning back to December levels.

Seasonally adjusted monthly hours also increased year-over-year by 5.1%.