There was a drop in the amount of full-time positions in Australia in May, which was offset by a rise in part-time roles, according to the latest employment figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The number of people in part-time employment went up by 29,800, while there was a decrease in full-time employment of 22,000 people. As a result, the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.9%.

It was suggested this week that baby boomers retiring later was partly responsible for the drive towards part-time work, due to high costs of living and increasing vitality of those over 60.

"There's a huge move towards part-time in so many sectors," said Fiona Anson, co-founder of HireMeUp.com.au. "Nearly one third of working Australians are now seeking part time work instead of full time work.

"We've moved past the "greed is good" mentality of the '80s and '90s. We're now seeing that people want more time to smell the roses. The term 'work-life balance' is bandied around all the time, often preceeded by the word 'elusive'. But people today are more determined than ever to make it a reality."

Read: Part-time jobs for 'work-life' balance

The latest ABS figures caught the financial markets off guard, as economists had expected an increase of more than 25,000 positions.

Businesses, particularly in retail, were blamed for not hiring. Only 30,900 jobs have been created in the first five months of 2011, compared with 200,000 in the second half of 2010. "It's a disappointing report," Macquarie senior economist Brian Redican told Business Spectator.

"Employment has been very lacklustre for a number of months now and suggests the economy hit a turning point in the first half of 2011."

This week's job ads survey was in line with the report, indicating a sharp 6.5% drop in job advertising in May, the biggest fall since 2009. This is the second month in a row that full-time employment has dropped, with April's ABS report revealing a drop of 57,200 people in full-time work. The participation rate, the number of people in work or looking for work, remained steady at 65.6%, unchanged from April.