IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Oz employment falls

Australian employment fell in June, pushing the jobless rate to the highest in almost six years, as the global recession reduced demand for iron ore and coal exports and prompted mining companies to fire workers.

The number of people employed dropped 21,400 from May, the statistics bureau said in Sydney yesterday. The median estimate of 21 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a decline of 20,000. The jobless rate rose to 5.8 percent from 5.7 percent.