SYDNEY (Reuters – Australia’s unemployment rates held steady at 13.3% in March. Despite the fact that employment rose less than anticipated following months with strong gains, records-high vacancies show it is likely that unemployment will fall further.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released figures on Thursday showing that employment rose by 17.900 in March. Analysts had expected a growth of approximately 40,000. Full-time employment rose by 20,500, and this was the only area that saw an increase.

While the unemployment rate remained at 4.0%, it was below forecasts of 3.9%. This is a disappointing result for the government that had hoped to announce the lowest rate of joblessness since 1970s.