Deputy Prime Minister and Employment Minister Julia Gillard says the global recession is hitting Australian jobs, after new figures showed the unemployment rate rose in May.

"The global recession is hitting the Australian economy and Australian jobs," Ms Gillard told journalists in Sydney on Thursday.

"We're not immune.

"As a result of the global recession these are tough times for working people right around the globe.

"Here in Australia, the government has acted decisively to support Australian jobs."

The federal government has initiated two fiscal stimulus packages, which included cash hand outs, since October last year.

"For Australians hit by the global recession and unemployment, we will be standing with them," Ms Gillard said.

"We want to stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

"We are strongly positioned compared to other countries - we've acted here to cushion Australia from the full effects."

Australia's unemployment rate rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.7 per cent in May, from an upwardly revised 5.5 per cent in April, figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed.

The fall in the number employed in May included a 26,200 drop in full-time workers and an 24,500 increase in part-time workers.

Total employment fell by 1,700 to 10.793 million in May, seasonally adjusted.

The outcome compared to the median expectation in financial markets for total employment to decline by 30,000 in May, and an unemployment rate of 5.7 per cent.

"This increase is in line with market expectations," Ms Gillard said.

"We've always said we were not immune from the global recession."

AAP