Job ads in Australia dip 1% in March

Job ads in Australia declined one per cent month-on-month in March, according to ANZ-Indeed data released on Tuesday.

The decline is at a much slower pace than the -2.1% in February, which was an upward revision from the previous -2.8%.

"The pace of declines in ANZ-Indeed Job Ads has eased," said Madeline Dunk, ANZ economist, in a statement. "In fact, there was no change in the average number of job ads in Q1 2023 compared to Q4 2023."

Annually, job ads declined -10.6% in the year to March, but remained 32.1% higher than pre-COVID levels, according to the report.

"While we expect to see a further moderation in job ads, the recent stickiness in the series implies it is unlikely to be a linear path downward and suggests we will only see a gradual rise in unemployment," Dunk said.

This is also indicated by the lack unemployment rate growth in February, despite job ads falling in the same month.

Decline by industry, location

Meanwhile, Indeed Senior Economist Callam Pickering said job ads fell in 60% of occupations, much higher than the 38% monthly average so far in 2024.

Hiring in the tech sector remained subdued, according to the economist, with job ads for software development, IT operations, and information design falling declining.

"Job ads for these tech sectors are down by 31% and 39% over the past year," he said.

By location, the drop in job ads was driven by New South Wales and Western Australia, according to Pickering.

"Job ads in New South Wales have fallen in 10 of the past 12 months, more than any other state," he said.