Australia's unemployment rate has fallen to 5.8 per cent, but it's because fewer people are looking for work, not because more jobs were created.
The participation rate, or the number of people either employed or actively looking for work, fell to a five-month low of 64.9 per cent in February.
The total number of people with jobs rose by just 300, consolidating for the third consecutive month, but the unemployment rate fell from January's 6.0 per cent.
JP Morgan economist Tom Kennedy says supply side factors were behind the improved unemployment.
But he said it's too early to assume Australians are giving up on finding work, as the participation rate has been moving higher for about 18 months.
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"This is more of a short term aberration which is likely to be unwound going forward," Mr Kennedy said.
The lower jobless rate also takes some pressure off the Reserve Bank, he said.
"It takes a little bit of wind out of the sails for those who are calling for a near term rate cut," he said.
"With the US Federal Reserve adopting a notably more dovish policy stance overnight, and the Australian dollar continuing to rally, labour market outcomes may take on slightly less significance to the RBA policy stance in 2016."
CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian said the stalling in employment growth is not overly concerning, given last spring's outsized job gains.
"We added over 300,000 jobs in 2015, it was the best calendar year result since 2006," he said.
"It takes a while to embed those workers, we're essentially seeing employers take stock at the moment."
Mr Sebastian expects the labour market to continue to strengthen over the course of 2016.
Full-time employment rose by 15,900 in February, while the number of part-time jobs dropped 15,600, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
