It was only a small, second level statistic from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, but the four year high in the latest job vacancies data will reassure the Reserve Bank in its greater confidence about the outlook for the Australian economy.
Recent comments from new governor, Dr Phil Lowe has seen the central bank expressed a more optimistic outlook for the economy and its immediate future.
The labour market has slowed this year after a surge in late 2015 as more part times job have been created than full time positions. That has still seen the jobless rate fall to 5.8%.
The latest ABS figures indicate a pick up in the demand for labour.
The ABS said that job vacancies in Australia rebounded 4.5% 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, the Australian Bureau of Statistics on reported yesterday.
That’s 9.8% more than the same three months in 2015.
On a trend basis there was a rise of 1.3% from the May quarter to 175,300. Vacancies in the private sector rose 4.6% to 160,100, again the highest number since 2012. That was up 8.2% on the August three months
Public sector vacancies increased by 4.9% to 17,200, which was the highest since late 2011.
The jobs vacancies data is one of those rare forward looking sets of figures – its a reliable leading indicator of labour demand and turning points in employment growth.
The ANZ jobs ads report each month is in a similar position.
