Australian employment surged by 76,300 positions in June, more than five times analyst forecasts, while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.4 percent, reflecting a rise in the labour force participation rate to 67 percent. The data underscores the strength of the labour market and could prompt the Reserve Bank of Australia to raise interest rates. The Australian dollar strengthened 0.3 percent to 70.21 US cents, and the three-year government bond yield climbed to 4.61 percent as traders increased bets that the RBA will hike rates by the end of this year. The RBA board kept the policy rate at 4.35 percent at last month's meeting and will watch the quarterly inflation figures next week ahead of its next meeting on August 10 and 11.