Public-sector job vacancies in Canberra have recovered slightly from the all-time low recorded late last year, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data says.
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But the picture for job seekers in the capital remains grim: the bureau recorded just 400 government vacancies in the February quarter.
It was the second-lowest result since records began 30 years ago.
In February 2013, 700 government jobs were available in Canberra.
There was slight relief, too, in the private sector: 2600 jobs vacancies were available in Canberra in the February quarter, the bureau said, adding 300 jobs in three months - an improvement on the previous year's figures.
But the numbers are still down from an all-time high of 5500 in November 2010.
The numbers represent all government sector jobs in the territory, including those offered by the Australian Public Service, the broader federal sector as well as ACT Public Service and other entities.
The low level of public sector vacancies in Canberra in February is equal to that recorded by the ABS between 1996 and 1997, as the then newly elected Howard government imposed deep cuts on numbers in the public service.
The highest recorded number of public sector vacancies in Canberra came in the dying days of the Howard government in 2007, when 2400 government jobs were available.
