* Employment 9,800 in Oct vs forecasts of +20,000
* Jobless rate steady at 5.6 pct, full-time employment bounces
* Sept employment revised downward to -29,000
* Mixed report leaves market pricing in modest chance of rate cut
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Australia's jobless rate held at a three-year trough of 5.6 percent in October but employment rebounded only modestly from a sharp fall the previous month, a mixed report that did little to alter the outlook for steady interest rates.
Thursday's data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed employment rose a net 8,800 in October, below forecasts of a 20,000 gain. September's report was revised downward to show a drop of 29,000.
Full-time jobs did bounce by 41,500 in October, but that followed a huge drop of 74,300 the previous month and extended a trend toward part-time work that has bedevilled the labour market all year.
Analysts recommended against reading too much into any one month's figures as the survey had been plagued with sampling problems.
Market reaction was minimal as the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has recently signalled interest rates were firmly on hold after cuts in August and May.
Interbank futures 0#YIB: only imply a 20 percent probability of an easing next year, and investors are even toying with the idea of a hike sometime in 2018.
The local dollar was little changed on the jobs report at $0.7482 AUD=D4 .