Australian newspapers and Web sites saw a 3 per cent rise in the number of jobs advertised in February compared to January, according to the Job Ads survey released on Monday by the ANZ. The growth likewise reflected an improvement that was the highest level since October 2012.

The growth was mainly spurred by online jobs advertisements at 3.3 per cent month-on-month, while advertisements placed in the traditional newspaper channels dropped by 2.9 per cent.

The February rise in job advertising, according to Ivan Colhoun, ANZ head of Australian Economic and Property Research, indicated tentative signs of a stabilisation in hiring intentions.

However, he believed it is still early to say that things have definitely picked up for the Australian labour force.

"The extent to which the increase in job advertising in January and February represents a similar temporary or sustained pick-up is unclear at this stage."

"Nevertheless, we forecast an improvement in the European and Chinese economies and remain confident that the U.S. recovery will continue despite a large fiscal drag."

Lower interest rates could help bolster the local employment market, Mr Colhoun said. Australia's unemployment rate had been forecast to remain above 5 per cent for the first six month of 2013.

"Rising Australian house prices, equity markets, consumer confidence and, to a lesser extent, business confidence in recent months are important signs that accommodative monetary policy should support stronger domestic economic activity," he said.

"Anecdotal evidence suggests that Australian firms are generally keeping a close eye on their bottom line, including labour costs."