Most of the jobs were offering low pay and many had unsociable hours, but the applicants turned up in their thousands.

Building consent stats released this morning show a 3.1 per cent jump in the number of new homes authorised for construction in November - the highest level since May 2008.

The number of jobs advertised in major Australian newspapers and online rose by 6 per cent in December, the strongest monthly growth since May 2007.

After 10 years of war for talent, the Noughties ended with unemployment at a nine-year high of 6.5 per cent.