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SYDNEY, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Job vacancies in Australia fell back last quarter as government belt tightening saw openings in the public sector sink to their lowest in almost 15 years, a sign the labour market could remain subdued for a while yet.
Wednesday's data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed total job vacancies dipped 1.7 percent in the three months to November in seasonally adjusted terms. That followed a 3 percent increase the previous quarter.
Vacancies of 140,600 were down almost 16 percent on the same period of 2012.
Much of the damage came in the public sector where vacancies fell a sharp 13.8 percent in the quarter, from the previous quarter. At just 10,000, vacancies were the lowest since mid-1998 as Federal and state governments push through spending cuts as part of tough fiscal plans.
Job openings in the private sector eased a more modest 0.6 percent to 130,700.
Analysts value the vacancies series as it has proved a reliable leading indicator of labour demand and turning points in employment.
The data suggests hiring could struggle to pick up after a very subdued 2013. The official report on employment for December is due on Jan. 16 and risks are it will show unemployment edging up further from November's 5.8 percent.
The tepid outlook for the labour market is one reason investors are still pricing in some risk of another cut in interest rates from the Reserve Bank of Australia.
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Richard Pullin)
((Wayne.Cole@thomsonreuters.com)(612 9373 1813)(Reuters Messaging: wayne.cole.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: AUSTRALIA ECONOMY/