The unemployment rate is expected to have risen slightly in May as employment growth takes a backwards step.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release its labour force figures on Thursday morning.

The median forecast from an AAP survey of 13 economists is for the unemployment rate to rise to 5.6 per cent in the month, from 5.5 per cent in April.

The number of people with jobs is expected to fall by 10,000 in May, compared to a rise of 50,100 in April.

JP Morgan Australia chief economist Stephen Walters said he doesn’t expect April’s strong jobs growth to be sustained and that May’s growth will be flat.

“In the context of gross domestic product growth slowing below trend, that result looks too good to be true, and we are due for a pull-back,” he said.