Australia on Thursday surprised economists who had forecast the country shed jobs in July by instead reporting a net gain of 32,200 positions, but the headline number appeared to cover deeper weakness.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the number of workers employed full-time actually fell by 16,000 from June, a sixth straight month of decline. The jobs gain came wholly from new part-time positions, a development reflected in a 0.4 per cent decline in the average number of hours worked.