This afternoon the dollar hit 98.74 US cents, the highest level since January 1983, when the currency was first floated and valued at 97.65 US cents.
At the local 5pm close, the Australian dollar was trading at 98.36 US cents. It was also buying 70.7 euro cents, 62 pence and 81.6 yen.
The dollar was strengthened by monthly government figures that showed the unemployment rate steady at a low 5.1 per cent in September, with 49,500 new jobs created in that month, well ahead of forecasts.
Most of the new jobs were reported to have been created in the booming domestic mining industry.
The value of the dollar rose by 8.3pc against the greenback in the past month as speculation that the US Federal Reserve would expand its economic stimulus programme.
Analysts in Australia now expect the dollar to reach parity with the US dollar in the next few months.
Craig James, an economist at CommSec, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the Australian dollar had benefited from a strong local jobs market and the prospect that the Reserve Bank would raise interest rates in October.
He said that consumers, motorists and Australians travelling on overseas holidays would benefit from the strong dollar, but that the local tourism market and exporters would suffer.
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