SYDNEY, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Australia's unemployment rate increased to a 10-month high of 5.3 percent in August as full-time employment declined, figures released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show.

The ABS reported the number of people employed decreased by 9, 700 in August.

The decrease in employment was driven by a decrease in full- time employment, down 12,600 people to 8,034,900, the ABS said.

But part-time employment was up 2,900 to 3,397,600.

The number of people unemployed increased by 18,400 people to 636,800 in August.

Economists had predicted that total employment to have risen by 12,000 in August with unemployment down to 5.0 percent.