The total number of jobs advertised in major metropolitan newspapers and on the internet rose by 1.3 percent in July
August 9, 2010
The total number of jobs advertised in major metropolitan newspapers and on the internet rose by 1.3 percent in July following a 2.8 percent increase in June, according to new data out today.
The ANZ Job Advertisements Series shows the number of job advertisements in major metropolitan newspapers rose by 1.2 percent last month, following three months of declines.
The rise in July’s newspaper advertisements boosted the yearly growth rate to 14.5 percent.
Newspaper job advertisements decreased in Queensland (-2.8 percent MoM) and Tasmania (-10.6 percent MoM), yet increased in New South Wales (2.1 percent MoM), Victoria (1.7 percent MoM) and South Australia (1.9 percent MoM).
Meanwhile, the number of internet job advertisements rose by 1.3 percent over the month.
Internet job advertisements are now 37.6 percent higher than they were a year ago and are growing at their fastest annual pace since November 2007.
‘ENCOURAGING’ RESULT
ANZ Chief Economist Warren Hogan says while July has seen some moderation in the growth of total job advertisements, it is encouraging to see job ads increase across the board.
“It is also encouraging to see that job advertising is picking up across the regions. In July, newspaper job advertisements rose across all States and Territories except for Queensland and Tasmania,” Hogan adds.
“This contrasts with the previous two months, when job advertisements fell in six out of eight States and Territories.”
The Australian labour market has performed strongly so far over 2010, in Hogan’s view.
“Given the considerable rise in interest rates over the last twelve months, we would have expected to see slower activity in interest-rate sensitive, labour-intensive sectors of the Australian economy (such as retailing) start to constrain demand for new labour going forward,” he says.
“However, the solid performance of job advertisements in recent months suggests that labour demand may hold stronger for longer. This may occur, for example, if firms decide to recruit larger numbers of workers now for fear of facing possible skills shortages in the future.”