Job advertisements placed in newspapers and on the Internet in Australia continued to drop for the third straight month in June, latest data released by the Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) showed on Monday.

According to ANZ, job advertisements placed in Australian newspapers dropped 1.2 per cent to 160,723 in June, from 162,667 in May. The latest figures likewise connote an 8.9 per cent reduction from the same month a year ago.

Job ads placed on the Internet showed a 1.1 per cent fall to 153,761 in June from May. Newspapers ads plummeted 3.3 per cent.

"Recent trends in job advertising suggest that there has been a mild softening in labour demand in Australia after it had strengthened somewhat in the early part of the year," said Justin Fabo, senior economist at ANZ.

"In part, this likely reflects hesitation among some firms to hire additional staff in the face of heightened uncertainty about the global economy again in recent months, particularly in Europe."

Majority of the job ad declines was spotted in Western Australia down 4.6 per cent, followed by Victoria down 4.4 per cent and Queensland at 2.2 per cent. An uptick of job placements, meanwhile, was seen in New South Wales and South Australia.

''It also likely shows the pressure on profitability that some firms are experiencing, for a range of reasons, and may be an early signal that businesses are turning their attention to improving productivity.''

"While the recent decline in job advertisements suggests that labour market outcomes could be a little soft in the near term, we do not expect a rapid or significant deterioration in conditions going forward," added Mr Fabo.

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