SYDNEY, June 30 (Reuters) - Job vacancies in Australia slipped 1.9 percent in the three months to May, the fist drop in almost two years and a posiible sign that demand for labour might have plateaued.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released on Thursday showed total job vacancies dipped to 169,400 seasonally adjusted in the March-May quarter, from 172,600 in the three months to February.
Vacancies were still 8.1 percent higher than in the same period last year.
Vacancies in the private sector fell 2.5 percent in the quarter to 153,000, but were still up 6.1 percent on the same period last year.
Public sector vacancies bounced by 4.5 percent to 16,400, which was the highest since early 2012.
Analysts value the vacancies series as it has proved a reliable leading indicator of labour demand and turning points in employment growth.