(Corrects typographical error in the headline)
* Gold stocks surge as bullion gains
* CIMIC rises on highway contract win
* NZ says economy contracted in December quarter
By Soumyajit Saha
March 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares were unchanged in early trade on Thursday as gains in gold and mining stocks were offset by losses in tech and industrials, while domestic jobs data showed a rise from January.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was up 0.05% at 6,795.2 by 2350 GMT.
Data showed that the country added about 88,700 jobs in February, higher than a Reuters poll projection of an increase of 30,000. Employment in January had risen by 29,100. individual sectors and shares, gold stocks .AXGD surged 4% as prices of the underlying precious metal rose after the U.S. Federal Reserve reiterated its accommodative monetary policy. GOL/
Gold explorers Bellevue Gold and De Grey Mining jumped 3.7% and 3.8%, respectively.
Miners .AXMM advanced 1%, with BlueScope Steel BSL.AX gaining 1.7%
Tech stocks .AXIJ fell 0.8%, with buy now pay later co Afterpay APT.AX and location intelligence co Nearmap Ltd NEA.AX dropping 2.8% and 1.4%, respectively.
Industrial stocks .AXNJ lost 0.4%, with toll road operator Transurban Group TCL.AX and property developer Lendlease Group LLC.AX falling 1.7% and 1%, respectively.
Meanwhile, engineering services provider CIMIC Group CIM.AX rose as much as 0.7% after it was selected by the Queensland Government to upgrade a highway. number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 786 while 520 declined.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was 0.2% lower, hurt by losses among utility and tech stocks.
The country on Thursday reported a contraction in its economy in the final quarter of last year, raising concern of a second recession and quashing expectations of a near-term hike in interest rates.