Australians face their best chance of finding work since the election of the Abbott government in 2013 following a pick-up in the jobs market.
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New employment figures released by the Bureau of Statistics show both employment and unemployment climbing. In the three months to July Australia's unemployment rate climbed from 6 to 6.3 per cent. The number of Australians in work climbed 87,500.
In Victoria the unemployment rate climbed from 6 to 6.4 per cent in May, while the number of Victorians in jobs rose 6900.
In NSW the unemployment rate climbed from 5.8 to 6 per cent, while the number of citizens with jobs jumped 29,600.
The clue to making sense of the apparent contradictions is an increase in the number of Australians changing their status from "not in the labour force" to "unemployed".
It's behaviour common at times when the jobs market is improving.
There are reasons to be cautious about taking either the reported increases in employment and unemployment at face value. The bureau calculates them by using an estimate of population growth based on the "historical pattern" of births, deaths and immigration. The estimate is likely to be revised down in coming months, resulting in downward revisions to both employment and unemployment growth.
While expressing doubt about the reliability of the figures, Treasurer Joe Hockey said it was "hard to argue" with an increase in jobs of 38,000.
"The transition in the Australian economy is well under way. We are dealing well with the move from a mining construction phase into mining production and a broadening of the output of the Australian economy. I think we've got good momentum and I believe at the moment, overall forecasts are a little on the pessimistic side."
The most reliable measure of employment is the so-called employment-to-population ratio, which measures the proportion of the population aged 15 and over in work.
The ratio began sliding shortly after the election of the Abbott government in September 2013, sinking from 61 per cent to a low of 60.6 per cent in January 2015. Since January it has been climbing, hitting 60.9 per cent in June and 61 per cent in July, the level the Abbott government inherited.
The slide and recovery roughly match the dip and recovery in consumer confidence that followed a poorly received first budget followed by a more popular second budget and two cuts in interest rates.
Since January 166,700 extra Australians have been put into work, giving the government a reasonable chance of fulfilling its commitment to create 1 million new jobs in its first five years.
"As we speak, we are sitting well over 300,000 since we first came to government," said Employment Minister Eric Abetz. "Talk to us at the end of the five years, but we are on track to be able to achieve that outcome."
The increase in the unemployment rate merely showed more Australians "putting themselves out there".
Australia's three biggest states have been responsible for almost all of the employment growth since January, NSW gaining 113,500 jobs, Victoria 27,300 and Queensland 22,600.
Away from the two biggest states, there have been modest employment gains and a fall.
Western Australia has gained 8200 jobs since January, the Northern Territory 4100, South Australia 2300, and the Australian Capital Territory 1900. Tasmania lost 700 jobs.
Western Australia's unemployment rate moved above the national average for the first time since 2002. The number of unemployed West Australians hit an all-time high.
Peter Martin is economics editor of The Age.
