Recruitment rate in Australia reached 50% in May
More employers are recruiting employees despite a slight decline in online job advertisements in May, according to Jobs and Skills Australia.
The recruitment rate, or the proportion of employers currently recruiting or who recruited in the previous month, reached 50% in May, two percentage points higher than April.
"This is the fourth consecutive month with a recruitment rate well above the level experienced in the second half of 2024," the report said. "The recruitment rate is now eight percentage points higher than the low of 42% in October 2024."
According to the Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey (REOS), 49% of employers in capital cities recruited in May, slightly below the 51% recorded in the Rest of State areas.
Staff turnover was the main reason why employers recruited in the past month, as cited by 57% of recruiting employers. Others said it was:
The higher rate of employers recruiting staff comes amid a downward trend in the recruitment difficulty rate, according to Jobs and Skills Australia.
Half of employers said it was difficult hiring staff in May, down three percentage points from the previous month and down six points from a year ago.
"The decrease in recruitment difficulty rate is particularly prevalent in Capital Cities, while in the Rest of State areas, the rate has remained stable compared with the same period a year ago (in smoothed terms)," the report read.
Meanwhile, the increase in the number of employers recruiting staff came despite a 2.8% drop in online job advertisements in May, according to a separate JSA report.
Its Vacancy Report showed that online job advertisements at the national level went down by 5,900 to stand at 208,000 in May 2025.
The JSA said the higher recruitment rate against decreasing job ads may be due to fewer employers posting online.
"This may, however, be attributed to REOS reporting an increase in employers who have not widely advertised their vacancies on internet jobs boards and have filled their vacancies quickly," it said.
Recruitment activity slipped across all states and territories over the month, with the biggest drops recorded in:
According to the REOS report, fewer employers are planning to hike staffing numbers from June to August.
The proportion of employers expecting to increase headcount went down by four percentage points to 19% in May 2025.
In Capital Cities, 19% are expecting to increase their staffing levels, slightly higher than the 18% of employers in the Rest of State areas.
