Australia job vacancies highest since mid-2011: ABS

[SYDNEY] Job vacancies in Australia have risen for a second straight quarter to hit the highest since mid-2011, a promising sign for an improvement in labour demand.

Total job vacancies increased 2.1 per cent to 182,000 seasonally adjusted in the September-November quarter, from 178,100 in the three months to August.

Vacancies were 8.9 per cent higher than in the same period of 2015, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed.

Vacancies in the private sector climbed 2.4 per cent to 164,700, again the highest number since mid 2011. That was up 8.6 per cent on the November quarter of 2015.

Public sector vacancies were steady at 17,300.

Analysts value the vacancies series as it has proved a reliable leading indicator of labour demand and turning points in employment growth.

REUTERS