Economic growth is likely to have rebounded following a fall in the September quarter, but the length of the recovery is questionable, National Australia Bank says.
NAB's monthly index of business conditions leapt to a level of 16 in the past month, from 10 in December and well above the level of zero that separates growth from contraction.
Business confidence also jumped to a level of 10 in January, from six the previous month.
The bank's chief economist Alan Oster said that, while the index pointed to an economic boost after a soft patch in the second half of 2016, caution was still needed.
"Recent strength in the NAB Business Survey is consistent with an anticipated rebound in economic activity, following the very weak third quarter 2016 national accounts," he said.
"With that said, a confluence of seasonal factors suggests it is unwise to get too carried away with the result just yet, especially as some key industries remain fairly weak.
"As for business confidence, we suspect the enthusiasm in financial markets has helped a lot. If sustained, confidence at these levels could see firms revise up their capital expenditure and hiring plans."
The survey showed mining and retail sectors rose into expansion in January, although they remained at soft levels, while wholesale fell quite sharply after December's surprise spike.
The service sector remained the best performer in the month.
Mr Oster said profits were unchanged at solid levels and forward orders edged back from very high levels.
Meanwhile, capacity utilisation rose in the month, and employment conditions leapt from a level of 2.0 in December to 7.0 in January.
"The employment index has now hit its highest level since 2011, having previously been stubbornly muted for some time," Mr Oster said.
"This month's jump in employment conditions bodes well for the generally underperforming labour market, and suggests stronger job creation than we have seen from the ABS in their Labour Force Survey lately."
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