If you believe the headline seasonally adjusted figures, in August everything in the labour force was falling. Employment fell, unemployment fell - and workforce participation fell, to its lowest level since 2006.

There's no sense in that, so we have to remember that it's just a survey, and focus instead on the trend figures, in which the Bureau of Statistics smooths out the zigs and zags of the seasonally adjusted data. And the trend figures are just as sombre.

In the past three months, the bureau estimates, Australia's working age population has grown by 64,000. But in net terms, just 8000 jobs have been created, and full-time jobs have fallen by 1000. Yet unemployment rose by just 4000.

That leaves 52,000 people unaccounted for. Where did they go? According to the bureau surveys, out of the workforce altogether. Some are studying, or minding the kids, or taking an overseas holiday. Some have retired. But where are the rest of them?

If this was just happening over three months, you wouldn't worry about it. But the bureau says this has been the story of the Australian labour market since the end of 2010: when our workforce participation peaked at 65.9 per cent of all adults aged 15 and over, with a record 62.5 per cent in work.