Australian job advertisements rebounded in January after a sharp decline in December though a prolonged bushfire season and a rapidly spreading virus are seen likely to hurt labour demand in coming months.
Monday's figures from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> showed total job ads gained 3.8% in January, from an upwardly revised 5.7% drop in December.
Job ads averaged 149,544 in December, down 11.8% from a year earlier.
"The bushfires and coronavirus will likely have a negative effect on the labour market, along with economic activity, over the coming months, particularly for tourism-related industries," said Catherine Birch, a senior economist at ANZ.
Fires have been sweeping across the eastern and southern coast of Australia, scorching rural towns and forcing mass evacuations. In another complication for the Australian economy, a rapidly spreading new virus has killed 350 people in China, leading to travel curbs and supply disruptions globally.
The ANZ vacancies series is closely watched by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) given it counts actual job ads, while Australian Bureau of Statistics data is based on more tenuous intentions by firms to hire.
The RBA has cut its cash rate to a record low of 0.75% in recent months in part as a response to a rising unemployment rate. It is expected to stand pat on rates at its next meeting on Tuesday at 0330 GMT.
Official data showed employment bounced by a solid 28,900 in December, while the jobless rate eased to 5.1% in a welcome outcome for policymakers.
(Reporting by Swati Pandey; editing by Uttaresh.V)
