New figures show the sharp recovery in employment from last year's Delta strain lockdowns peaked in the early stages of December, even before the Omicron variant outbreak set in.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said payroll jobs fell 0.5 per cent in the fortnight to December 18, following a 0.3 per cent rise in the previous two weeks.
ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said the first half of December is usually a seasonal peak for jobs each year, followed by a fall around the summer school holidays.
