Australia: Job Ads continue to fall in June

The total number of jobs advertised in major Australian newspapers and on the internet fell by a seasonally adjusted 3.0 percent in June to a weekly average of 262,705 per week. This follows a 1.7 percent decrease in May. The total number of ads in June was 6.2 percent higher than 12 months ago. In trend terms the total number of job ads fell by 0.6 percent in June.

The number of job ads in major newspapers decreased by 3.5 percent in June to an average of 16,593 per week. This followed a 13.5 percent decrease in May. Newspaper ads are now 17.9 percent lower than in June 2007. In trend terms, the number of newspaper job ads fell by 2.4 percent to be 15.1 percent lower than a year ago. The fall in newspaper job ads in June was driven by decreases in Victoria, the ACT, Queensland, New South Wales, and the Northern Territory. In contrast, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania bucked the trend.

The number of internet job ads fell by 2.9 percent in June to average 246,112 per week. In trend terms, internet job ads continued to fall by a modest 0.5 percent in June, although they remain 11.7 percent higher over the past year.

ANZ Co-Head of Australian Economics Sally Auld, said: “Total job advertisementss have fallen in June, extending the declines we saw in May. In trend terms, we are now seeing a moderation in job advertising in both newspapers and on the internet. This is consistent with the trend easing in employment growth since the start of the year. Employment did fall in absolute terms in May, but given this was the first decline in 18 months, it is unlikely that this foreshadows a sustained downturn in employment. While employment growth should ease modestly over the next six months, we do not expect a significant slowing in labour market activity. Indeed, the risk may be that persistent skill shortages could encourage firms to hoard labour. This should ensure that while labour market conditions soften, the slowdown in employment growth and the rise in the unemployment rate will be reasonably measured.”

“On a state by state basis, Western Australia and South Australia both experienced moderate gains in newspaper job ads in June, consistent with a plateauing of job ads in those states. While Tasmania experienced strong growth in the month, the data are historically volatile due to the relatively small number of ads in the state.”