Australia's opposition leader forgets jobless rate, says 'I made a mistake. I'm human'

Australia'soppositionLabor Partyleader, Anthony Albanese, said Monday he was only "human" after being unable to remember the country's unemploymentrateon the first full day of campaigning for May 21 elections.

Albanese's party is ahead in the polls as he seeks to oust Prime Minister Scott Morrison's conservative coalition government.

The economy is a key issue for many of the country's 17 million voters.

Asked to give the nationaljoblessrateby a reporter, Albanese stumbled, replying: "The national unemploymentrateat the moment is, I think it is 5 point...4, sorry, I am not sure what it is."

Australia's unemploymentrateis at a 13-year low of 4.0 per cent, a level that Morrison has been touting as he warns voters not to trust Labour with the economy.

Albanese also skirted questions on the key interest that banks charge each other for overnight loans. Known as the bankrate, or the cashrate, it stands at 0.1 per cent.

"Earlier today I made a mistake. I'm human," Albanese said shortly afterwards.

Watch |Australian PM Scott Morrison calls federal election for May 21

"But when I make a mistake I will fess up to it and I will set about correcting that mistake. I won't blame someone else. I will accept responsibility. That's what leaders do."

On a two-party basis, Labor leads the Liberal-National Party coalition by 53 per cent to 47 per cent, according to the latest Newspoll released this weekend.

Asked similar questions later, Morrison gave the correct figures, adding his own government's prediction that the unemploymentrate"is falling to a 50-year low".

Multiple surveys show the cost of living, with gasoline prices soaring since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, is a key concern ahead of the election.