Job advertisements have fallen for the third straight month, led by declines in Victoria and the mining boom states of Western Australia and Queensland.

Total job advertisements on the internet and in major metropolitan newspapers fell 1.2 per cent in June, following a 2.6 per cent drop in May, the ANZ job advertisements survey showed on Monday.

Internet job advertisements have fallen 8.5 per cent in the 12 months to June.

ANZ senior economist Justin Fabo said the survey suggested Australia’s job’s market was weakening.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Western Australia suffered the biggest falls in newspaper job advertisements (down 4.6 per cent), followed by Victoria (down 4.4 per cent) and Queensland (down 2.2 per cent).

Mr Fabo said the results suggested official jobs figures released this week could show an increase in the unemployment rate but said a significant downturn in employment was unlikely.

“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.”