Australia’s unemployment rate has hit a 14-month high, rising to 5.9% in February, widely missing expectations of a flat rate of 5.7%.

The total number of people with jobs fell by 6,400 last month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday, with the market forecasting a rise of 15,000.

Economists say they are wary of extracting too much meaning from one month’s data, but say the fall in employment is a “little worrying” because it follows only modest employment growth in December and January.

The underemployment rate – workers who are employed but are willing to work more hours – returned last month to a record high 8.7%, or 1.1m workers.

It shows there is considerable slack in the labour market, with wages growth likely to remain subdued for a number of years.

“We expect employment growth to remain modest and the unemployment rate will probably remain around 6% this year,” Kate Hickie from Capital Economics said.

“If the unemployment rate were to rise sharply this could be enough to prompt a further rate cut by the RBA, particularly if concerns about financial stability ease.”

The ABS says full-time employment rose by 27,100 jobs in February, which wasn’t enough to reverse the sizeable 44,100 fall in full-time jobs January.

Over the last year, all new jobs have been part-time on net.

The youth unemployment rate rose in February, from 12.3% in January to 13.3%.

Labor leader Bill Shorten said the record level of underemployment was a serious concern, and the country needed a plan for jobs.

“Let me make it clear, a plan for jobs is not a plan to cut penalty rates,” he said.

“We have got wages growth at the lowest that it has been in 20 years, company profits at the highest in 40 years. The answer in Australia is not to cut middle and working class workers’ wages backwards.”

Simon Birmingham, the minister for education and training, said the jobs figures reflected a “resilient” labour market but also highlighted the pressing need to continue with the government’s economic plan.

“We are acutely aware that there are too many Australians who remain unemployed, without the security and dignity of work, and that significant economic challenges lie ahead,” he said.

“That’s why we’re committed to creating the right policy frameworks that will facilitate stronger jobs growth, so that all Australians can take advantage of new, emerging job opportunities.”

Meanwhile, another report forecast an improved employment outlook.

The Westpac-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry industrial trends survey showed fundamentals are pointing to employment growth of two per cent or slightly higher in 2017.

“If that is achieved it would be a significant turnaround from last year when jobs growth was a little bit less than one per cent,” Westpac senior economist Andrew Hanlan said.