Australia Feb. Leading Employment Index Drops For First Time In 6 Months

Australia's leading indicator of employment dropped for the first time in six months in February, data released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) said Wednesday.

The leading employment indicator declined by 0.056 point from the previous month in February, after rising 0.002 point in January. The index fell after rising in all of the past five months.

DEEWR said that weaknesses in three of the indicator's four components prevented the prospective turning point of September 2011 from being confirmed this month.

The leading indicator is designed to give advance warning of turning points in cyclical employment, which is measured as the deviation of the one-year trend in employment from the six-year trend.