If ever there was a time to look behind the headlines – on job figures – this is it.

Most economists were surprised by the latest labour force figures, which apparently showed that Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained steady in July at 5.8 per cent.

The Federal government, itself, has been predicting that the nation’s unemployment will inevitably rise, as the global economic crisis tightens  its grip on the Australian economy.

So what, really, is going on?

The devil, once again, is in the detail.

Particularly in an apparent trade off, between full and part time employment.

Predictably, the number of full time jobs available in Australia fell during July, when 16,000 disappeared.

That was more than offset, though, by a surge in part time employment.

The Statistician reports that, on seasonally adjusted figures, no less than 48,200 new part time jobs appeared during the month.

So what, really, is going on here?

A survey, conducted by the National Australia Bank, offers some clues.

It showed that the profit outlook, for Australia’s small business, became positive in June  for the first time since the global economic crisis struck  last September.

The survey showed, also, that small to medium enterprises in Australia are now generally faring betterthan their bigger rivals.

Part time workers, of course, are more attractive to small businesses, than to bigger ones.

A new, part time employee is a much smaller commitment, than a new full time worker.

Any employer, taking on full time workers, is accepting a much bigger obligation than another, who engages a new part time employee.

The bureau’s figures indicate that Australian bosses are very well aware of this difference.

They suggest, too, that they are keen to get the extra flexibility that comes with hiring part time workers.

The bureau’s figures show, also, that Australian workers are well aware of this.

They revealed that the number of Australians who were seeking full time work fell by 4,800 last month, to 495,900.

But the number seeking part time work rose by 5,600 to 168,200.

So, on balance, the number of Australians classed as unemployed rose by just 800 last month, to 664,100