The national unemployment rate has dropped from 3.7 per cent to 3.5 per cent, back to level seen in December.

With employment increasing by around 65,000 people, and the number of unemployed decreasing by 17,000 people, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 per cent,” explained Bjorn Jarvis, ABS head of labour statistics.

“The February increase in employment follows consecutive falls in December and January. In January, this reflected a larger than usual number of people waiting to start a new job, the majority of whom returned to or commenced their jobs in February.

“This was particularly evident in the South-East of Australia, with larger than seasonal numbers of people entering into employment across New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT.”

In line with this, the employment to population ratio increased 0.2 percentage points to 64.3 per cent in February, back to the level in December 2022.

The participation rate rose 0.1 percentage point to 66.6 per cent in February, also back to December levels.

This all helps mount a strong case for the Reserve Bank to implement its eleventh straight rate rise when they meet next month.