The Australian dollar is trading higher today after solid jobs numbers added some optimism on the state of the economy.

At 3.22pm (GMT), the Aussie dollar was trading at US70.73c up from US70.30c in yesterdays close.

The economy added more than 17,400 new jobs in July well above analysts’ forecasts, while the unemployment rate fell from 6.3% to 6.2%, which was in line with expectations.

The figure was a morale booster for the Australian dollar, which has been under pressure in recent weeks due to weak data, and as the US fed gears up to lift interest rates.

Although the employment numbers were positive Australian Employment Minister Eric Abetz said more “needs to be done” such as cutting taxes, reducing regulation, and supporting freer trade to improve the situation.

He noted that underemployment was “a huge issue” in the economy.

“I don’t know why it is, but the economists tell me that if you are employed for one hour per week, you are considered to be in employment. I think we can all be agreed that that is … insufficient,” Senator Abetz said.