New figures have given a glimmer of positivity in the ailing mining sector.

Recruitment agencies and job-search websites have reported an uptick in the number of mining jobs on the market.

It would be a welcome turnaround for WA's mining sector, which shed more than 25,000 jobs between August 2013 and June this year.

The best-performing sector within mining was exploration and geoscience, where listings were up 60 per cent between August and October.

Mine processing came second with 46 per cent growth over the same period, while drill and blast work grew by 33 per cent.

Hays recruitment director Chris Kent said three key minerals were behind the increase.

“Gold's been strong for a while but certainly iron ore and more recently nickel have certainly improved,” Mr Kent said.

“The nickel price is something that's interesting, it's probably at the bottom of the curve and as a result people have been reluctant to invest until they saw the upswing, but with mines closing in the Philippines the supply, demand equation is changing.”

Association of Mining and Exploration Companies chief executive Simon Bennison says there has been a big increase in the number of initial public offerings (IPOs) by companies seeking to raise cash for exploration.

“There's been a serious increase in the number of IPOs this year,” he said.

“We had two or three last year, we've had about half a dozen this year and there are about 12 or 13 sitting at the front door of the ASX right now waiting to be funded.

“I think it's a combination of ... an upturn in commodity prices, the fact there are some really good deals out there to be made with drilling companies.

“We have seen through the ABS stats an increase in particular in the gold sector, in the metres drilled and the expenditure.

“Our colleagues out at the drilling industry association in Kalgoorlie have certainly see an increase in the number of rigs mobilised and companies keen to increase greenfields exploration,” he said.

Employment in the oil and gas sector has continued to fall.