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. 2019 was notable for its reduced employment advertising, along with a reversal of the gains in 2017 and 2018. However, the first survey of 2020 has started on a positive note.
According to the latest ANZ figures, total advertisements increased by 3.8% in January on a seasonally-adjusted basis, following a 5.7% fall in December after it was revised up. On a 12-month basis, total job advertisements were 11.8% lower than the same month last year, a sharp reversal from December’s comparable figure of -18.8%.
ANZ senior economist Catherine Birch said, “Job ads recovered some ground in January but not enough to fully offset the upwardly-revised 5.7% drop in December.”
