But monthly figures show reversal of 7-month downward trend

According to Seek’s latest employment report, job ads in Australia were down by 8.1% in January when compared to the same month last year.

However, on a monthly basis, job ads recovered from a 7-month downward trend, rising for the first time to 2.8% in January.

Job ads were 26.3% higher than January 2019, indicating that the market remains tight, despite job ads no longer being at record-levels.

Additionally, applications per job ad have jumped by 35.5% year-over-year, and 9.2% over the previous month, data shows.

On an annual basis, Queensland recorded a 0.9% uptick in job ads in January while Tasmania (3.8%) and South Australia (1.5%) also reported growth. On the other hand Victoria (-13.8%) and Australian Capital Territory (13.2%) reported the biggest declines over the year.

According to Seek, on a monthly basis, every state and territory recorded a rise in job ads in January, and Tasmania had the largest increase of 8.5%, followed by Queensland at 4.2%, and New South Wales at 2.7%.

By industry, on a monthly basis, the overall growth in job ads in January was led by Manufacturing, Transport & Logistics, which grew 5.3% month-on-month, Trades & Services, up 2.5% and Accounting, which increased 7.6%.

Kendra Banks, Managing Director of Seek ANZ commented: “Advertising volumes have reverted to November levels after falling marginally in December. While 2.8% seems a small increase in volume after seven months of decline, job ad levels remain above pre-pandemic levels for the majority of industries. For our largest hiring industries by volume, for example, job ads remain over 55% higher,”