Australia seems to have been able to sustain an economic boom while the rest of the world continues to suffer, and even Australians cannot quite explain why.
If you could paint an image of the world looking at Australia from the outside, it would be like a host peering into a room at a never-ending party. Nobody else is invited, and from the inside the participants are thumbing their noses at passers-by.
Since the onset of the global financial crisis, Australia has managed to tame inflation and keep unemployment low while still enjoying solid economic growth.
Many economists argue you cannot have low inflation and high employment at the same time, at least not for any sustained period. High employment tends to drive wages up,and from there costs rise and the inflation bubble grows.
Australia has managed to keep both leading economic indicators looking good - the mining boom that has been the mainstay of the economic boom remains hungry for manpower, and at the same time, the ever-strengthening local currency has made Australia's addiction to imported goods less costly, keeping inflation at bay.
It is the sort of situation government economic strategists dream of, but it is in part illusory.
Look closer at the party and you will see that some people are doing very well, while others are suffering. The economy is often described as two-speed - one fast (the resources and utilities sector) and the other slow (all the rest).
Others believe the picture is more fractured: a multi-speed economy that is working at different rates and tempos.
The growth in employment, which last week pushed the country's jobless rate below 5 per cent, is concentrated in just a few industries. About two thirds of the 37,800 jobs created last month were in the resource-rich states of Western Australia and Queensland.
This explains why the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's latest survey of business confidence was largely negative in outlook. In it, 34.5 per cent of businesses say trading conditions are poor, while the number expecting conditions to deteriorate over the next three months has almost doubled since the start of the year to 18.7 per cent.
"The non-mining sectors, which still make up 90 per cent of the economy, are exposed to pressure from interest rates, the dollar, cautious household spending and rising oil prices," the chamber's economics director Greg Evans said.
The sluggish housing market had put even the booming mining state of Western Australia into a technical recession.
There is another reason for inflation below 2 per cent. With the central bank setting interest rates at 4.75 per cent (well above par in the western world), it has effectively stymied spending in the retail sector and dampened the hopes for growth in the building and housing industries.
As with the economy, growth in employment has been patchy. Jobs are being shed in manufacturing, building, tourism and finance, while the healthcare sector, with an ageing population to cater for, is enjoying a boom.
Some of the biggest winners over the past year have been the professions. Lawyers, accountants, information technology specialists and engineers have all enjoyed work related to the resources boom. Much hiring by mining companies has been in anticipation of investment that has yet to occur.
Helen Kevans, an economist for JPMorgan, believes the central bank will lift interest rates in August as labour shortages inevitably push up wages.
Meanwhile, the illusion of the never-ending party will probably continue for some time. While the biggest industries get the cream and full employment, the rest may have to suffer the price of their success.
A two-speed economy may give the impression that inflation and unemployment remain in control, but inevitably the fastest player will be forced to change down gears.
