Part-time jobs are on the rise and full-time employees are working shorter hours.
The jobless rate remained at a two and half year low of 5.7 per cent in April as a rise of 20,200 part-time jobs neutralised a fall of 9,300 full time jobs.
The figures reflect the shift in the economy away from the mining sector.
Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk said twice as many part-time jobs had been added in the year to April as the number of full-time roles.
He also said female employment has grown 3.1 per cent in the same period - more than double the growth of 1.3 per cent in male employment.
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"This highlights the big shift in employment growth from the previously booming resources sectors to the more modestly growing services sectors, as these sectors have a much higher proportion of female and part-time workers," Mr Smirk said.
The latest jobs figures also showed the number of hours worked fell to 16.13 million, meaning the average employee worked about three and a half hours less in April than in the same month a year ago.
Hours worked have fallen in the past three months and are now down 0.5 per cent in the year to April, CommSec senior economist Savanth Sebastien said.
"That may not sound like much but it is the first annual fall in hours worked in almost three years," he said.
JP Morgan senior economist Ben Jarman said the decline in hours worked is not completely explained by the rise in part-time employment.
"There appears to be some dialling back of hours for existing workers too," he said.
Sharp declines in hours worked indicate excess capacity in the labour market, National Australia Bank senior economist Tapas Strickland said.
"It could also indicate under-utilised labour and could help explain why the recent falls in the unemployment rate are yet to translate through to a pick-up in wages growth," he said.
