If it felt to you like no-one was at work for large parts of January, then the latest official employment figures confirm your hunch.

The Omicron outbreak saw hours worked plunge nearly 9 per cent in January, even as unemployment remained steady.

The Bureau of Statistics figures, taken in the first half of last month, showed Australians worked 159 million fewer hours in January than in December.

Those numbers are seasonally adjusted, so already account for the high amount of annual leave workers usually take in January.

And, unlike January last year — when hours worked fell 4.9 per cent — this year's plunge in work was not solely due to more workers taking holidays.

"The majority of the fall was due to workers working fewer, or no, hours due to illness — almost 1.2 million people had to take time off in January," observed KPMG's chief economist Brendan Rynne.

"There was also a slight increase in the number of people on holiday, relative to normal, with 39.5 per cent of employees having some time off in early January."

WA only state to see hours worked rise

The effect of Omicron variant was clear, with the two states then suffering the worst outbreaks also seeing the biggest drop in hours worked, with New South Wales and Victoria down 13.5 and 13.2 per cent respectively.

Western Australia, which was still COVID-free at that stage, was the only state where hours worked increased, rising 1.7 per cent.

"Nationally, and in New South Wales and Victoria, the number of people who worked reduced hours because they were sick was around three times the pre-pandemic average for January. In other states and territories, it was twice as many people," noted Bjorn Jarvis, who heads labour statistics at the ABS.

"Western Australia was the only jurisdiction with a usual low number of people working reduced hours in January because they were sick."

Unlike regular patterns of sick leave, the number of people missing at least a whole week of work due to illness was more than four times the pre-pandemic average — perhaps not surprising given the obligation to isolate for seven days or longer.

"January is the middle of summer and usually only around 90,000 to 100,000 people in Australia are away from work sick for an entire week. In January 2022, it was around 450,000 people (3.4 per cent of employed people)," Mr Jarvis observed.

Aside from those who were sick or on holiday, the ABS data revealed that many employees were stood down for periods last month as business dropped off in some sectors most affected by the virus.

"More workers than usual — just under 1 million — reported working fewer or no hours for economic reasons," Dr Rynne observed.

"But this level is significantly lower than the previous waves of the disease, with over 2.4 million workers impacted through the peak of the Delta wave."

Jobs market 'very, very tight'

However, while hours worked plunged, around 13,000 jobs were added last month and the unemployment rate remained at 4.2 per cent, with labour force participation still near record highs.

CBA senior economist Kristina Clifton noted, aside from the virus-related drop in hours worked, the jobs market looks robust.

"The labour market is actually still very, very tight," she wrote in a note.

"If we look at the leading indicators, they're very strong. We've got job vacancies at record highs, and also at record highs relative to the number of people that are unemployed at the moment.