Treasurer Scott Morrison has warned Telstra's decision to shed 8000 jobs is a reminder of the real risks facing the Australian economy and the need to make businesses competitive.
He says Australian businesses large and small are dealing with a tough and challenging global environment and need to undertake structural changes.
"Unless we can ensure that our businesses can have competitive tax arrangements and more broadly are able to go out there and compete with strong economic policies ... then other countries will cut our lunch," Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
The remainder of the government's 10-year business tax cut plan is due to be voted on in the Senate next week.
Mr Morrison also said, like all Australians, he was very disappointed to learn about the Telstra jobs cuts.
"There is only one thing that I can say in response; that is the government has been working hard to ensure the economy they will go back into now to find another job, there are more jobs in that economy today than there were before," he said.
However after record 2017 jobs growth, figures show further signs that demand for workers is cooling.
Growth in job advertisements posted on the internet have fallen for a second straight month.
The Department of Jobs and Small Business internet vacancy index fell 0.9 per cent in May following a drop of 0.8 per cent the previous month, although it was still 5.8 per cent higher over the year.
Job ads fell in all eight occupational groups monitored by the department with the largest falls for sales workers and labourers, which both fell 1.5 per cent in the month.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute leading index for May, which indicates the likely pace of economic activity in three to nine months, also suggests slowing growth.
"The May update is the weakest since September last year and while the index growth rate still indicates momentum is running slightly above trend, there has been a clear shift lower in the first half of 2018," Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said.
He said the latest national accounts which showed a rate of 3.1 per cent over the year to March was broadly consistent with the stronger growth pulse seen in the leading index over much of 2017.
"While that pulse carried into the first few months of 2018 it has faded noticeably since February," he said.
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