Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan lauded the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) decision to upgrade the country's growth forecast for both 2010 and 2011, declaring that the world financial institution's thumb of approval is a testament to Australia's position as a world leader in global economic recovery.

The IMF said on Thursday that Australia's encouraging growth prospect was brought about by the country's robust commodity prices which boosted private domestic demand as it projected that economic growth of 3.0 percent would be seen in the present year while next year's forecasts should reach a much better 3.5 percent.

Mr Swan said that the report solidified the country's role as world leader in the global recovery efforts, "with stronger growth, lower unemployment and much lower debt than other advanced economies."

He added that the IMF report, and combined with the country's currently strong employment data, pointed to the fact that "the Australian economy is still well ahead of the curve and continues to benefit from the government's strong economic management."

Australia's unemployment rate showed a steady 5.1 percent in June as more than the earlier projected number of people gained employment in the month, posting up to 45,900 new job placements following some revisions in the May jobless data, which was originally recorded at 5.2 percent.

Mr Swan said that the good postings could be attributed to the country's economic advantage, which is its proximity and links to the world's fastest growing economic are, Asia.

He noted that China, Japan and India are Australia's biggest trading partner and the three countries also happened to be the continent's largest economies.

In its report, the IMF said that while global recovery is still uneven, growth in the Asian region has remained strong though it noted that weak markets still haunt most major economies and the presence of downside risks persist.