Of all the economic statistics, the labor market best highlights the underlying strength of the Australian economy.
The trade deficit is improving, but not as fast as today's figures suggest.
Economic growth is rebounding after the temporary weakness in the third quarter. Rising export prices are providing a huge boost to the economy, which is fueling profits and prompting companies to hire.
The data indicate that firms continue to struggle to pass higher costs through to consumers, with profit margins being squeezed as a result.
Wages aren't at a level that's going to prompt the central bank to raise interest rates. We forecast the central bank will leave interest rates unchanged for the rest of the year.
High commodity prices are boosting miners' profits and so they are expanding and employing more people. Economic growth is strong enough to generate new jobs. The labor market remains in good shape.
Housing finance has bottomed out at a relatively high level after losing some altitude in the wake the central bank rate rise in early 2005.
House price inflation has picked up in recent months; if this continues it has positive implications for consumer spending via the wealth effect it provides to homeowners.
This will show the labor market remains in good shape, despite several months of disappointing figures. The surge in mining exports from the favorable global environment is flowing through the economy.
The survey has provided a relatively good one-quarter lead on annual US GDP growth over the past 15 or so years - the correlation is 0.69.
