Australia job vacancies jump to 4-year high in August quarter

[SYDNEY] Job vacancies in Australia rebounded by 4.5 per cent in the three months to August to hit the highest since mid-2012, a promising sign for a pick up in labour demand.

Total job vacancies rose to 177,300 seasonally adjusted in the June-August quarter, from 169,600 in the three months to May, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday showed.

Vacancies were 9.8 per cent higher than in the same period last year.

Vacancies in the private sector climbed 4.6 per cent to 160,100, again the highest number since 2012. That was up 8.2 per cent on the August quarter last year.

Public sector vacancies increased by 4.9 per cent to 17,200, which was the highest since late 2011.

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

REUTERS