The number of employed Australians fell by nearly 16,000 in July, reversing gains seen in the previous month and countering expectations for continued jobs growth.

The country's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased to 4.5% in July from 4.4% in the previous month as employment fell by 15,800 people, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday. The result follows an employment increase of 76,300 in June.

Westpac expected the July jobless rate to hold steady at 4.4% and anticipated a lift in employment of 15,000, saying that a recent sharp jump in underemployment could be a "signal of more slack to come."

The number of unemployed people rose by 4,200 from June to hit 691,500, while the underemployment rate remained at 6.4%, the data showed. The employment-to-population ratio and the participation rate both edged 0.2 percentage points lower to 63.9% and 66.9%, respectively.

"The majority of the fall in employment came from males, which fell by 11,000 people," said Sean Crick, head of labor statistics at the government agency. Female employment posted a smaller decline of 5,000.

In July, Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter said the country may need a period of higher unemployment to ease inflation expectations. The central bank left its key rate unchanged at 4.35% earlier this month, and is due to meet again in late September.

A recent Commonwealth Bank of Australia report showed the country's annual wage growth rising to 3.2% in July from 3.1% in the previous month, while a Seek employment report indicated a continued decline in the volume of job ads in Australia in July but at a slower pace than earlier in the year.