[SYDNEY] Australian job advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet jumped by the most in over four years in February, a rare piece of goods news on employment that presages a pick-up in hiring after months of weakness.
A survey by the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group out on Monday showed job advertisements rose 5.1 per cent in February, from January, with all the gains coming in internet ads. “The job ads data, inasmuch as they encapsulate broad labour demand, deserve the most attention, and corroborate the range of other indicators which have suggested modest improvement in the labour market,” said Michael Turner, a strategist at RBC Capital Markets.
The jump in ads contrasts markedly with recent announcement of planned job losses at some high profile companies and an increase in the official unemployment rate to a decade peak of 6 per cent in January.
It will also be a comfort to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) ahead of its March policy meeting on Tuesday.
source: businesstimes.com.sg
