The jobless rate has unexpectedly fallen to its lowest level since the federal coalition came to power two-and-a-half years ago.
At 5.7 per cent, it's the lowest rate since September 2013, and defied the predictions of economists who had expected a rise to 5.9 per cent in March from 5.8 per cent in February.
The total number of people in employment also rose by a larger-than-expected 26,100.
However, the result was down to a 34,900 jump in the number of part-time workers, partly offset by a drop of 8800 in full-time jobs.
"Anyone who gets a job is a good thing ... (but) it comes at the expense of the full-time jobs," opposition employment spokesman Brendan O'Connor told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.
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Even so, Commonwealth Securities economist Savanth Sebastian says the drop in the jobless rate will provide a big boost to consumer confidence.
"As we saw over the latter part of 2015, job security plays a big part in household consumption," he said.
Consumer confidence has been under a cloud in recent weeks as the May 3 budget and a possible election on July 2 looms.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said that during the past 12 months, the number of employed people had risen 2.2 per cent while the number of unemployed people had decreased 4.6 per cent.
"So when a coalition government is able to implement its economic agenda, you can clearly see it's one of job growth and job creation," she told reporters in Perth.
