The latest data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) shows that there were an extra 13,600 people in a job in December.

This is more than the national result, which saw an increase of 13,500 for December.

Across the 2016 year, 118,500 extra people were employed in Victoria, 67,800 of these full-time. Nationally there were 91,500 people employed with a fall in full-time work of 34,000.

The numbers confirm that the annual pace of total and full-time job creation in Victoria continues to lead the nation.

In stark contrast, New South Wales only had an increase of 600 jobs in December, and 1000 jobs across 2016.

Victoria’s unemployment rate remained steady at 6 per cent in December, down from the 6.6 per cent we inherited from the previous Liberal Government.

Victoria’s unemployment rate remains the second lowest of the states, as more Victorians – buoyed by strong economic conditions locally – re-entered the labour force and began looking for work.

The state’s youth unemployment was also unchanged at 12.9 per cent in December, but still 1.6 percentage points lower than one year ago.

Victoria’s labour market is expected to remain robust, with recent trends in leading indicators of employment growth, including job advertisements and vacancies, indicating solid job growth is likely to continue.