SYDNEY, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Australian job advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet dipped in July to break a three-month stretch of gains, though ads were still near their highest in at least two-and-a-half years.
A monthly survey by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ.AX showed total job advertisements fell 0.4 percent to 146,121 per week on average in July, from June when they rose 1.2 percent.
Ads were up 9.3 percent on July last year.
Internet ads eased 0.5 percent in July, offsetting a 2.2 percent increase in newspaper ads. The latter have been in decline for years and account for only a fraction of the total.
The official employment report for July is due on Thursday and is expected to show a rise of around 15,000. The jobless rate is seen holding at 6.0 percent.