Total job advertisements fell in September (in seasonally–adjusted terms) after rising in August, according to ANZ’s monthly jobs ads survey. The month-on-month figure fell by 0.4%, and the year to September figure moved back to 3.6%, or where it was in June 2014.
Domestic bond markets largely ignored the results and took their trading leads from offshore news. The 3 year bond yield increased by 4bps to 1.53% while the 10 year bond yield moved up 3bps to 2.02% on the day. The AUD was down about half a US cent on the day, which is an indication the forex market thinks future interest rates are likely to be lower.
Labour force figures for September have not yet been released and so how the job ads to total employment ratio has fared in September is not known. The chart below shows the inverse relationship between the job ads to total employment ratio and the unemployment rate. As the ratio rises (more adds per potential employee) the unemployment rate falls. However, the rate of ads per potential employee is still far from pre-GFC levels.