Australia's unemployment rate dropped from a revised 6.1 per cent to 6 per cent in May, as the economy absorbed an extra 42,000 workers, according to the latest labour force survey by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The ABS said on Thursday the improvement on April was "driven by increases in part-time employment for females (up 29,800) and full-time employment for males (up 15,900)".

"Looking further ahead we see Australia's outperformance ending," the IMF's James Daniel said. Credit:Tamara Voninski

It's the lowest joblessness rate in a year.

The participation rate, meanwhile, remains at 64.7 per cent, revised from an earlier 64.8 per cent.