The state of the labour market will be on display when fresh employment data to be released on Thursday reveals any changes in a jobless rate now at a near-50-year low.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest labour force figures will see the headline unemployment rate watched closely.

The jobless rate currently sits at 3.4 per cent, the lowest since 1974.

AMP economist Diana Mousina said she expected a solid rise in employment but also a lift in the participation rate, which would push the jobless rate slightly higher.

“But this should not be taken as a negative sign of weakness in the labour force as it indicates that more people are in the labour force,” she said, adding that good jobs growth was likely to continue for a while yet.

Deluge of data

Tuesday will also be a busy day for data drops, with reports on consumer sentiment due from Commonwealth Bank, ANZ/Roy Morgan and Westpac/Melbourne Institute.

NAB will release a monthly survey on business conditions and the Australian Bureau of Statistics will issue travel data and estimates on the number and value of homes.

On Wednesday, the ABS will drop its latest labour account data, showing the number of jobs added in the June quarter.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will also release its quarterly bulletin on economic trends this week.

Last week, the central bank hiked interest rates for the fifth week in a row.

Meanwhile, Australian shares are expected to open higher on Monday after US stocks rallied on Friday with all major sectors posting gains.

The US S&P 500 was up 1.53 per cent to 4,067.36 points and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 2.11 per cent to 12,112.31. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.19 per cent to 32,151.71.

On local markets, Australian share futures increased 79 points, or 1.14 per cent, to 6963 on Friday.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index last week closed up 45.5 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 6894.2, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 53.7 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 7139.

-AAP