The Turnbull government may have failed to get its much-heralded business tax cuts through parliament this week but signs are it will still be boasting about strong employment growth for months to come without the reductions.
New figures show demand for workers at its strongest level in seven and half years, even after the record-breaking run of 17 months of consecutive employment growth.
Commonwealth Bank economist Gareth Aird expects another decent employment run this year predicting monthly jobs growth averaging 20,000.
"Such an outcome would push the unemployment rate down towards 5.25 per cent by year-end," he said.
The jobs rate was 5.6 per cent in February.
Thursday's data shows job vacancies rose four per cent in the three months to end February for an annual rate of 18.7 per cent.
All the growth was in the private sector, with demand for public servants falling 0.1 per cent compared to three months earlier.
Despite this strength, economists do not expect the Reserve Bank will lift the cash rate anytime soon, particularly as an upbeat labour market has lured more job seekers, preventing a significant drop in the jobless rate at this stage.
The government was unable to get sufficient numbers in the Senate to back the remainder of its 10-year business tax cut plan as hoped this week, a reduction it says will promote investment, create jobs and lead to higher wages.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann hasn't given up pursuing the reduction in the corporate tax rate to 25 per cent.
"We need to get these tax cuts through. We will continue to make the case. The legislation will come back on in May," he told reporters in Canberra.
Other economic figures show there are signs of a further cooling in the housing market with growth in demand for loans by investors sinking to a record low.
"Given the current regulatory climate, the backdrop of the banking royal commission, and the cyclical downswing in property price growth, investor lending activity is likely to remain weak over the medium term," JP Morgan economist Henry St John predicted.
Reserve Bank data shows investor loans grew by a modest 0.2 per cent in February to be just 2.8 per cent up on the year.
However owner-occupier loans rose by 0.7 per cent in the month for an annual rate of 8.1 per cent, the highest in over a year.
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