The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations said its leading employment indicator rose by 0.071 in December to 0.376, after rising a revised 0.089 in November. The Department said it was too early to confirm a possible acceleration in employment growth to above the long-term trend of 1.8 percent per year, as that would require six consecutive monthly increases. The department also said cyclical employment had fallen for 10 consecutive months in December. Jobs figures for November are due on Thursday with economists forecasting 10,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate to remain steady at 5.2 percent. Since the early 1980s, the leading index has consistently anticipated turns in the labour market, beginning to rise and fall before employment does, but with variable time lags.