KEY POINTS:
Prime Minister John Howard will be hoping for a solid rise in jobs growth in this week's labour force data, potentially the last major economic report before he calls an election.
Howard has made it clear that job creation will be a key element of the coalition's election
pitch when the campaign finally gets underway.
This week's's Nielsen poll, published in Fairfax newspapers, shows that the coalition's economic management is the only thing left for the Prime Minister to lean on as he tries to close the gap on Labor.
Otherwise, voters see Howard as less trustworthy and less visionary than Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd.
In his weekly radio address, Howard cited the fall in unemployment to a 33-year low under the coalition as one of his proudest achievements.
"I want Australia to become a full employment economy where anyone who wants a job and is able to work has a meaningful job that leads to a lasting career.
"The upcoming federal election will be a referendum on which party is best equipped to achieve this goal."
Economists expect Thursday's labour force report for September to show a further solid 20,000 jobs were created, keeping the jobless rate pinned at 4.3 per cent for a fifth straight month.
Some 170,000 jobs were created in the first eight months of this year, including a chunky 31,900 in August, supported by strong economic growth.
Even the Government's Welfare to Work scheme that was introduced in July, potentially unleashing a swathe of unskilled workers on to the jobs market, has not lifted the unemployment rate as economists and the Government had expected, such is the demand for labour.
Still, the Nielsen poll shows the Government has a lot more to do than put some political spin on a set of jobs numbers.
The poll showed Labor still has a commanding two-party-preferred lead of 56 per cent to 44 per cent over the coalition.
The poll also found Rudd was considered more trustworthy than Howard by 43 per cent to 32 per cent, and that Rudd had a better vision for Australia by 48 per cent to 38 per cent.
The poll found 40 per cent of voters rate the coalition as better economic managers, while 12 per cent chose Labor.
But what will grate on Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello is that 43 per cent of voters said it made no difference who ran the economy.
There are also tentative signs that the stellar performance in jobs creation won't last forever, with growth in job advertising easing.
The latest ANZ employment ads series released yesterday showed the total number of jobs advertised in major capital city newspapers and on the internet declined by 0.4 per cent to a seasonally adjusted weekly average of 247,853.
ANZ head of Australian economics Tony Pearson said employment growth was set to slow in coming months.
He said strong economic growth rates would underpin demand for workers in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, but jobs ads in the commodities-boom state of Western Australia were trending downwards after five years of exceptionally strong growth.
- AAP
