http://business.theage.com.au/business/surprise-jobs-jump-20... "Employers took on an additional 33,700 full-time employees in January, the most in six months, spurring hopes the economy may yet avoid a recession.

All up, the economy added 1200 jobs last month as firms cut part-time jobs. Even so, the result was much better than the overall 18,000 job losses economists had tipped."

In AU at least two major banks (CommBank and NAB - w/ SAP and Oracle respectively) are undertaking major core system replacements - this is driving up the local tech markets.