Unemployment is expected to rise slightly in November, reflecting the uncertainty felt about the world economy by Australian employers.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) labour force data, due on Thursday, is expected to show an unemployment rate of 5.25 per cent, according to an AAP survey of 16 economists.
Half of those surveyed believed the rate would remain steady at 5.2 percent, while the other half expected a rise to 5.3 per cent.
NAB chief economist Robert Henderson said employers appeared reluctant to employ staff, as indicated by the figures that showed little growth.
"The labor market hasn't fallen off a cliff but it has definitely softened," he said.
"We're getting close to the point where the job growth is not enough to stop unemployment rising a bit."
The median market forecast is for total employment to rise by 10,000 in the month - the same figure as October.
The participation rate is also expected to remain unchanged, with a median figure of 65.6 per cent.
"It's not that there is widespread job shedding it's just that I think employers have been more careful about their hiring and maybe delaying some hiring," Mr Jolly said.
The mining industry is expected to be a continuing source of job growth, while the manufacturing and construction sectors remain weak.
Macquarie senior economist Brian Redican said he expected a fall in employment numbers.
"In the last few months, we have seen more and more firms announce staff reductions and that seems to be intensifying," he said.
"There are obvious areas such as manufacturing and tourism which are seeing a lot of job loss stresses at the moment, but increasingly it's spreading into other areas including finance, professional services, even to government employment as well."
Job shedding could spread to the retail sector, following sales declines at department stores, he said.
Mr Redican said that if the trend continued to move downwards, it could influence the Reserve Bank of Australia's thinking on possible fate cuts.
"I think the RBA is prepared to see the unemployment rate rise 5.5 per cent over the next six months," he said.
If unemployment rose to 5.5 per cent in three months, then the RBA might consider rate cuts, Mr Redican said.
Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk said he would be watching for falls in male full time employment, which would indicate that the mining sector was employing less workers than expected.
"Male full time employment has been weak all this year, and this coincides with a weakness in construction and manufacturing," he said.
"It suggests that the benefits of the mining boom are perhaps not spreading as widely as people think they are."
