Are better days ahead?
Barely a year after the pandemic caused economic downturn, Australia’s job market appears to be showing signs of bouncing back – albeit the rate of recovery differs by geography and industry. This rebound is evident in the “healthiest” job ads growth witnessed since the COVID-19 crisis began.
In February, the number of job postings increased 4.1% when compared with the previous month, suggesting businesses are getting ready to reinvest in talent. In addition to the monthly rise, the latest data also showed a 12.4% jump when figures are tracked year-on-year (February 2020). This is the fourth consecutive month of y/y job ads growth, according to employment marketplace SEEK, which compiled the data.
Read more: Will COVID-19 drastically impact recruitment plans?
The uptrend is seen throughout the country. “For the first time since before the pandemic, all states and territories saw year-on-year growth in job ads posted on seek.com.au,” said Kendra Banks, managing director of SEEK ANZ.
“New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory were the only two states, before last month, not to have returned to pre-COVID levels. In February, NSW saw an increase of 3.6% y/y, and ACT was 5.0% higher,” Banks said.
Read more: Recruitment challenges during COVID-19
Industries that buoyed 2021 growth figures included trades and services; hospitality and tourism; and health care and medical services. In these sectors, the following roles are reportedly the most in-demand:
“Professional services is the only sector to still be showing a y/y decline; however, 10.1% is the smallest gap we have seen and is being more than made up for by the other sectors,” Banks said.