Australian job advertisements surge to highest point in more than two years

In a further sign that the Australian economy is strengthening the number of job vacancies being advertised surged by the most in two and a half years.

Jobs advertised in newspapers and on the Internet gained 6 per cent in December, according to a report by Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. released today.

National vacancies advertised in newspapers and on the Internet averaged 149,063 a week last month. Newspaper advertisements surged 11.6 per cent to an average 10,631 a week while Internet advertisements gained 5.6 per cent to 138,432.

Australia’s unemployment fell in November, due to the biggest three-month surge in hiring in three years in mainly the mining and energy companies such as Chevron Corp, who is expanding their liquefied natural gas ventures in Western Australia to meet rising global demand for energy.

Employers added 99,500 new jobs in the three months through November, cutting the jobless rate to 5.7 percent from 5.8 percent in October, and it’s estimated December saw employers add another 10,000 jobs.

The rising employment rate has also helped boost consumer confidence in the Australian economy with many households increasing spending, a major coup for the retail industry which has seen a 1.4 per cent increase in November from the month before.

The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people lodge their Australian Visa applications with the Australian Embassy.