Anthony Albanese has stated "I'm human" after being unable to name the unemployment rate during a difficult first morning on the campaign trail.
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But Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pounced on the performance, repeating his claim Labor would risk the economy if it wins the May 21 poll.
On the first full day of the federal election campaign, Labor finance spokeswoman Katy Gallagher stepped in as Mr Albanese struggled under pressure from journalists.
The Labor leader initially declined to answer when pressed on the cash rate, before incorrectly claiming the unemployment rate was 5.4 per cent - 1.4 per cent higher than in reality.
Attempting to mitigate the damage just hours later, Mr Albanese accepted responsibility for the gaffe.
"Earlier today I made a mistake. I'm human. But when I make a mistake, I'll fess up to it and I'll set about correcting that mistake. I won't blame someone else. I'll accept responsibility. That's what leaders do," he said, before correctly stating the cash and jobs rates.
Earlier, after announcing a funding promise for children with hearing difficulties in Launceston, Mr Albanese was asked point blank what the unemployment rate was.
"The national unemployment rate at the moment is ... I think it's 5.4 [per cent]. Sorry, I'm not sure what it is," he said.
Labor finance and campaign spokesperson Katy Gallagher was forced to step in, asked to correct her leader.
"The Reserve Bank current rate is 0.1 [per cent]. And the unemployment rate's at 4 per cent," Ms Gallagher said.
"We can do the old Q and A stuff over 50 different figures ... I know how much the price of bread is, I know how much a litre of milk is. I know about those things that affect ordinary people," he said.
In an aside at Mr Morrison, who only answered a handful of questions on Sunday, Mr Albanese urged journalists to be "polite", saying "I don't run away from press conferences". But he called last question soon after the gaffe.
Mr Morrison immediately seized on the performance, which came as the Coalition continued its efforts to frame Labor as economically reckless.
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The Prime Minister, who was criticised in February after being unable to name the price of bread and milk, stressed the cash rate had been steady at 0.1 per cent for "some time".
"The unemployment rate, I'm happy to say is 4 per cent, falling to a 50 year low. It came down from 5.7 per cent when we were first elected ... we put the policies in place to ensure that could occur," he said in Gilmore on Monday.