The latest job figures show Australia's economy is more resilient than expected, the federal government says.
Australia's unemployment fell unexpectedly to 5.2 per cent in July, while the number of people employed rose by a seasonally adjusted 14,000, more than the 10,000 forecast by economists.
Western Australia's jobless rate remained the nation's lowest, at 3.5 per cent.
Employment Minister Bill Shorten said the numbers were better than expected and showed Australians were "hanging in there" in the world economy.
"The Australian economy in terms of employment is operating at a more resilient level, I think, than some in the market expected," he told reporters in Melbourne.
Mr Shorten said the Australian economy was a mixed bag with some sectors such as mining doing well, but other sectors doing it tough.
"The news out there in the economy is mixed," he said.
Mr Shorten said the growth in the service industry was a silent revolution and good news amid the gloom.
"Australians compared to five years ago are buying a lot more services than goods. We think this is a long-term trend," he said.
New jobs in the sector over the past 12 months had helped keep the economy afloat, with more Australians buying health, financial, aged care and educational services, Mr Shorten said.
He said more Australians were also working part-time than ever before.
Mr Shorten also said job losses outlined by Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce at a business lunch on Wednesday were disappointing.
Mr Joyce said the company hoped to save $300 million a year by slashing 2800 full-time jobs across its engineering, maintenance and catering operations.
Mr Shorten said he accepted the company faced economic challenges, but hoped the airline was not making short-term decisions.
"I certainly hope the people running Qantas are not making short-term decisions based on the next four months of sharemarket reporting and in doing so, scrapping needlessly thousands of skilled jobs," he said.
Mr Shorten said those jobs exported overseas may be needed again once business takes off.
Australians expected Qantas to respect its local workforce, he said.
"What makes Qantas a strong Australian brand is its Australian identity. With that Australian identity comes a responsibility to have a practice of employing people in Australia, which Qantas do," he said.
