A surprise drop in the number of people with full time work has pushed up the nation's unemployment rate.

Figures released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the national jobless rate lifted to 5.1 per cent in November from 5 per cent.

Even though total employment increased by 37,000 through the month it was all part-time work. The total number of full time jobs across the country dropped by 6400.

The fall in full time work pushed down the number of hours worked in all jobs by 0.2 per cent.