Employers in Australia are increasingly turning to the internet in order to recruit new members of staff.

This is according to new data released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, which suggested the labor market has dipped in recent months, AAP reports.

However, the figures also showed that there was a 0.3 per cent rise in vacancies posted on online employment sites during May 2011 compared with the previous month, contributing to a year-on-year climb of 12 per cent.

According to the official job vacancies statistics, newspaper adverts contracted by two per cent during the month in question, with hiring in the country affected by flooding and the impact of Cyclone Yasi.

Figures for May 2011 from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed total job vacancies for the month dipped by 1.7 per cent compared with February this year to 186,000.

Public sector posts rose by 0.6 per cent over the period in question to 18,200, offsetting some of the 1.9 per cent fall in private sector roles to 167,800.

Posted by Sarah Dixon