New report reveals slower hiring, candidate activities by year-end
Job advertisements for human resources and recruitment roles inched up toward the end of 2025, according to a new report, bucking the broader downturn in job postings across most occupational groups.
SEEK's latest Employment Report showed HR and recruitment job ads going up by 0.2% in December.
It was one of the three occupational groups that logged an increase in worker demand during the month, along with sport and recreation (0.2%) and consulting and strategy (0.3%) industries.
Overall, job ads in December went down 1.2% month-on-month, and are were down 3.5% year-on-year.
"Job ads continued trending down in December, rounding out the softening that began in August and bringing the trend decline to 3.5% year-on-year," said Blair Chapman, SEEK senior economist.
"Hiring typically slows down ahead of the Christmas and New Year period and the 2025 slowdown was a little bigger than we've seen historically."
The biggest drop in monthly job postings was recorded in the legal industry, with a 3.4% decline. This was followed by the retail and consumer products (-2.6%) and then the insurance and superannuation (-2.2%) industries.
"January traditionally brings renewed momentum into the employment market, as businesses reemerge re-emerge from holiday mode," Chapman said.
"Whether the rebound in January is enough to see job ads trending up again will soon be seen."
Decline in candidate activity
The decline in hiring activity among employers by year-end comes as fewer candidates applied for jobs in November, according to SEEK data.
Applications per job ad went down 0.3% month-on-month, a slightly sharper year-end decline in candidate activity.
"Applications per job ad dropped 0.3% alongside falling job ads in November, highlighting an incremental decline in candidate activity since June, albeit off a relatively high base," the report read.
Quarterly, however, job ads job ads expanded in some regions, such as the Northern Territory (9.4%), Tasmania (2.3%), the Australian Capital Territory (1.6%), and South Australia (1.3%).
