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The national jobless rate remains at historic low levels but easing employment growth suggests the slowing global economy and rising interest rates are starting to weigh on the labour market.

The unemployment rate held at 3.5 per cent, with 14,600 jobs lost from the economy as per Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

"With employment decreasing by around 15,000 people, and the number of unemployed increasing by 6000 people, the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.5 per cent," ABS head of labour statistics Lauren Ford said.

The unemployment rate was revised from 3.4 per cent to 3.5 per cent for November.

The participation rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 66.6 per cent for December, back to where it was in October.

"Despite this slight fall from its historic high, it finished the year 0.8 percentage points higher than its pre-pandemic level," Ms Ford said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers was pleased there was another jobless rate in the "middle threes".

He was also not surprised about the slowdown in employment growth.

"Jobs growth has come off a bit in December in expected ways, as the combination of a slowing global economy and higher interest rates begins to take hold on our economy," he told reporters in Queensland.

But he said dampening employment growth was coming off a very high base, with 212,000 jobs created since the Albanese government came into power.

"We are in relatively good nick as we enter what might be a difficult year in the global economy in 2023," Dr Chalmers said.

While the labour market remains strong, most economists expected further employment growth in December.

The 0.1 per cent fall in employment followed a robust 58,000 lift in November and average monthly growth of about 40,000 people between August and November.

Despite the weaker-than-expected December result, ANZ economists labelled the employment dip a "one-off".

Economists Catherine Birch, Adelaide Timbrell and Madeline Dunk expect labour market tightness to endure throughout 2023.

"With 444,200 job vacancies recorded in November - around double the pre-pandemic level - and businesses still in hiring mode, it's hard to see a sharp rise in unemployment any time soon," they said.

For the Reserve Bank, the tight labour market could put upwards pressure on wages, prompting further interest rate rises to stop inflation becoming sticky.

ANZ economists expect another rate rise when the RBA holds its first meeting of the year in February, with next week's consumer price index also important for the bank's monetary policy direction.

The ABS figures released on Thursday showed the COVID wave in the final months of 2022 contributing to the uptick in people working fewer hours because of illness.

Ms Ford said the 606,000 people working less due to sickness, an extra 86,000, was more than 50 per cent higher than usual for that time of year.

The number of hours worked in the month dropped by 0.5 per cent for the second month in a row.

The underemployment rate rose to 6.1 per cent in the month, from 5.8 per cent in November.

© AAP 2023

Transport safety investigators will analyse Qantas Flight 144's cockpit voice recorder and flight data to probe what caused the plane's jet engine to fail on a flight from Auckland.

The pilot of QF144, a Boeing 737, shut down the engine and made a mayday call over the Pacific Ocean, before landing safe at Sydney airport Wednesday afternoon.

In the wake of the incident, Qantas said all 145 passengers disembarked normally and that shutdowns were rare, with pilots trained to manage them safely.

Passengers reported feeling turbulence on the flight but said they were unaware of a mayday alert until they landed.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau on Thursday said three of its investigators had commenced the "evidence collection phase" of a probe into the incident, which was launched hours after the emergency.

"At the ATSB's request the operator has quarantined the aircraft's cockpit voice and flight data recorders. Once downloaded, information from those recorders will be analysed at the ATSB's technical facilities in Canberra," the ATSB said in a statement.

It said the officers would likely also interview flight crew, review operator procedures and analyse weather data.

The probe would also examine any relevant engine components, and could involve a "tear-down inspection of the engine", the ATSB said.

The investigation would work to establish a sequence of events with the ultimate aim being to determine any underlying safety issues, the agency added.

"If at any time during the course of this investigation we uncover any critical safety issues, we will immediately share those ... so timely safety action can be taken."

Qantas said its investigations continued.

On Wednesday, Australian and International Pilots Association' vice president Mark Hofmeyer commended the pilots for making safe decisions under pressure.

"At the end of the day, it was a safe outcome," Mr Hofmeyer told AAP.

Federal Transport Minister Catherine King lauded Qantas' safety record after the scare that had 100,000 people tracking the flight online.

"Well done to the highly experienced crew for getting the plane safely home," she tweeted.

Qantas has never had a passenger lost on a jet aircraft in its history.

© AAP 2023

The national jobless rate held at 3.5 per cent, with 14,600 jobs disappearing from the economy.

"With employment decreasing by around 15,000 people, and the number of unemployed increasing by 6000 people, the unemployment rate remained steady at 3.5 per cent," Australian Bureau of Statistics head of labour statistics Lauren Ford said.

The participation rate fell 0.2 percentage points to 66.6 per cent for the month of December, back to where it was in October.

"Despite this slight fall from its historic high, it finished the year 0.8 percentage points higher than its pre-pandemic level," Ms Ford said.

A COVID wave in the final months of 2022 likely contributed to the uptick in people working fewer hours due to illness.

Ms Ford said the 606,000 people working less due to sickness, an extra 86,000, was over 50 per cent higher than usual for that time of year.

The 0.1 per cent fall in employment followed a robust 58,000 lift in November and average monthly growth of around 40,000 people between August and November.

The number of hours worked in the month also dropped by 0.5 per cent for the second month in a row.

"The falls in employment and hours worked in December followed strong growth through 2022, with an annual employment growth rate of 3.4 per cent and hours worked increasing by 3.2 per cent," Ms Ford said.

"The strong employment growth through 2022, along with high participation and low unemployment, continues to reflect a tight labour market."

The unemployment rate has hovered around half-century lows for months and another strong report was expected in the final month of 2022.

In November, the unemployment rate was revised from 3.4 per cent to 3.5 per cent, while the participation rate increased to 66.8 per cent.

For the Reserve Bank, another strong labour market read will keep pressure on wages and price growth.

The central bank started hiking interest rates in May in response to surging inflation.

The monthly consumer price index revealed re-accelerating inflation in November, with the indicator lifting 7.3 per cent over 12 months compared to the softer 6.9 per cent annual result in October.

Another cash rate hike is broadly expected when the RBA holds its first meeting of the year in February.

© AAP 2023