From mid-2017 onwards, year-on-year growth rates in the total number of Australian job advertisements consistently exceeded 10%. That was until mid-2018 when the annual growth rate fell back markedly and then continued to deteriorate for the remainder of 2018 and into 2019. The latest numbers may be positive but they are far from impressive.
According to the latest ANZ figures, total advertisements increased by just 0.3% in September on a seasonally-adjusted basis, a modest turnaround from August’s 2.6% fall. On a 12-month basis, total job advertisements were 10.4% lower than the same month last year, which is a small improvement from August’s comparable figure of -11.4% after revisions.
ANZ senior economist Catherine Birch said the survey “does not necessarily indicate a turning point in the labour market.” She pointed to the recent increase in the official unemployment rate as well as fewer job vacancies in the latest quarterly ABS report.
Local markets largely followed higher US treasury yields. By the end of the day, yields on 3-year ACGBs had gained 4bps to 0.58% and the 10-year had increased by 3bps to 0.89%. However, ultra-long bond yields inexplicably slipped 1bp to 1.29%.