Peter Ryan reported this story on Thursday, February 16, 2017 12:10:00

It's been a bad morning for Australia's telecommunications giant Telstra.



The telco's shares plunged when it posted an unexpected fall in first half profit.



Telstra's phone business is under pressure and it has also been hurt by network outages which have angered consumers and businesses.



But there's good news for the broader economy on the jobs front with the official jobless rate dipping to 5.7 per cent.



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Andy Penn, Telstra chief executive