Unemployment rate holds steady at 4.2 per cent in August, solidifying chances the RBA will hold rates in September

The Reserve Bank of Australia is all but certain to keep rates on hold later next month after the unemployment rate held steady at 4.2 per cent.

Fresh data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed employment fell by 5400 in August as there was a 40,900 dive in full-time employment.

Meanwhile, part-time employment grew by 35,500 in August.

The unemployment rate is one of the core pieces of information the RBA examines in the lead up to an interest rate call.

Prior to the release of the data, money markets said there was a 20 per cent chance of a rate cut at the end of this month while the odds of the RBA holding rates were 80 per cent.

Following its release, the chances of a cut grew slightly to 22 per cent.

The jobs data did come below economist expectations of a 21,500 increa