Australian employers have started the year on the hunt for workers, with 39,100 new jobs being created in January.

Key points: Unemployment rate holds at 5pc with jobs growth balanced by more people looking for work

Unemployment rate holds at 5pc with jobs growth balanced by more people looking for work Australia is developing a two-speed jobs market with NSW and Victoria booming, while unemployment is elevated in other states

Australia is developing a two-speed jobs market with NSW and Victoria booming, while unemployment is elevated in other states The better than expected result drove the Australian dollar higher

The surge in recruitment targeted full-time work, with an impressive 65,400 positions added, while part-time work fell by 26,300 jobs.

However, it was not enough to move the unemployment dial, which stayed put at 5 per cent in seasonally adjusted terms.

The solid number saw a spike in the Australian dollar, which jumped back above 72 US cents.

The boost in full-time employment saw the average hours worked edge up, to be 1.6 per cent higher over the year in trend terms.

However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics noted this was still slightly below the 20-year average year-on-year growth.

It also failed to reduce slackness in the labour market, with the underemployment rate (the percentage of people in work, but looking for more hours) and the underutilisation rate (the sum on unemployment and underemployment) remaining steady.

Labour market "slackness" is largely blamed for keeping the lid on wage growth.

The headline national figure hides what is becoming a deep divide between the states with strong jobs growth and the laggards.

In seasonally adjusted terms, New South Wales' unemployment rate is now down to a record low 3.9 per cent with more than 47,000 jobs added, but Victoria's edged back up to 4.5 per cent.

This is a marked contrast to the likes of Queensland (6 per cent), South Australia (6.3 per cent), Western Australia (6.8 per cent) and Tasmania (7 per cent).

Economists disagree on whether jobs growth can continue

There was also a stark contrast between different economists' views of the outlook for jobs.

The number of jobs added in January was nearly three times what most economists had predicted, but many believe it is a one-off.

"In contrast to the RBA's forecast, we think that the downturn in the housing market will result in much weaker GDP growth than the bank is anticipating, which means that the labour market should start to slacken again before long," wrote Ben Udy from Capital Economics.

"We expect the unemployment rate to climb to 5.3 per cent by the end of the year, which suggests that wage growth won't accelerate any further from the 2.3 per cent annual increase in the fourth quarter."

Deutsche Bank's Phil Odonaghoe disagrees, arguing that employment growth itself will beget a stronger economy.

"Critics might suggest the labour market is a lagging indicator," he wrote.

"It might be, for economies with large manufacturing industries where business cycles are driven in large part by shifts in inventory cycles.

"But for a service-oriented economy like Australia, the labour market acts much more like the economy's 'flywheel', linking national income with consumption and investment."