Total job advertisements on the internet and in newspapers increased 1.2 per cent in February to be 19.3 per cent higher than in February 2010, the ANZ job advertisements survey showed.
Newspaper job ads rose 4.4 per cent, while internet job ads rose one per cent in February. In Queensland, newspaper job ads rose 30.5 per cent in the month, reversing a significant decline the month before in the wake of flooding and Cyclone Yasi.
"Last month, we noted a significant drop in Queensland newspaper advertising in the week ending the 16th of January," said ANZ Head of Australian economics and property research Ivan Colhoun.
"The (February) rise is significant enough to raise the possibility that there has been an increase in labour demand over and above the pre-existing trend due to activities associated with clean up and repairs after the recent floods.
"March data will provide a clearer indication as to the extent of this increase in demand." ANZ estimates the effect of the Queensland floods reduced national job advertisements by around three quarters of a percentage point in January.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
From late December to mid January, the Sunshine State faced massive flooding and a cyclone, disrupting the state's coal production and damaging infrastructure.
Newspaper job ads rose 1.5 per cent in NSW, 1.9 per cent in Victoria and 12.5 per cent in the ACT.
However, they fell 5.4 per cent in Northern Territory (NT), 1.5 per cent in Western Australia, 2.2 per cent South Australia and was down 2.5 per cent in Tasmania. Meanwhile, the Advantage Job Index rose by its largest monthly amount since the December 2007 in February.
Almost all industry sectors and every state recorded an increase as the index rose 6.08 per cent in the month.
"We haven't seen a national increase this large for over three years," said Bob Olivier, director of global market intelligence at Advantage.
"And in the 11 years we have been compiling the monthly Advantage Job Index, it has only risen this much six times, so this is a very significant indication that the Australian job market is returning to full strength for 2011."
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is expected to release its official employment data on Thursday.
The median market forecast is for a national jobless rate of 5.0 per cent, unchanged from January's headline figure.
