More than 300,000 new jobs have been created in Australia over the past year, the government has revealed.

Treasurer Wayne Swan declared the country has witnessed "very strong employment growth" and the economy remains stable, with large numbers of projects in place in the resources sector, Dow Jones reports.

This, he said, is despite the impact of severe flooding and a cyclone in Queensland, which will have an effect on fiscal growth.

Mr Swan added the fundamentals of the economy remain strong in his answer to a question put to him in parliament.

The Treasurer also highlighted the need for strong policies in the Budget and forecast full fiscal capacity will be achieved in the coming years.

His comments come after latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed unemployment was unchanged between January and February 2011 at five per cent, while aggregate hours worked climbed over the month by 17.9 million hours.

Posted by Sarah Dixon