Australian job advertisements jump 5.1 pct in February

SYDNEY, March 3 (Reuters) - Australian job advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet jumped 5.1 percent in February, the biggest increase in more than four years and a potential sign of a pick-up in hiring after months of weakness.

A survey by the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group

out on Monday showed job advertisements on the internet climbed 5.3 percent in February from January, easily outweighing a 0.5 percent dip in newspaper ads.

(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Paul Tait)

((Wayne.Cole@thomsonreuters.com)(612 9373 1813)(Reuters Messaging: wayne.cole.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: AUSTRALIA ECONOMY/JOBADS