Federal Employment Minister Brendan O'Connor says the latest employment figures show the economy is in transition as the resource investment boom winds down.
The number of people in employment fell by 10,200 in July, when economists had expected a 10,000 increase.
But the jobless rate was steady at 5.7 per cent, defying forecasts of a rise to 5.8 per cent.
"We know the economy is in transition, with declining commodity prices and the terms of trade impacting growth, tax revenue and employment," Mr O'Connor said in a statement on Thursday.
"Only Labor can be trusted to manage this transition responsibly with a positive plan to invest in new industries, new jobs, health and education."
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Mr O'Connor said the next wave of apprentices in training across Australia can take heart in knowing Labor has created almost a million jobs since coming to office in 2007.
"In order to ensure our 22 years of economic growth continues through this transition, we need to diversify our economy and our sources of jobs growth," he said.
"The Rudd Labor Government has a clear plan to manage the economic transition underway while protecting jobs, maintaining fair wages and conditions and investing in health and education."
