Senior economist notes this may be a sign of employers ramping up hiring
Opportunities for HR professionals in Australia "jumped" in April, according to a senior economist, while job ads growth across the country remained stable.
ANZ-Indeed Australian Job Ads rose 0.5% month-on-month in April, up from the 0.4% increase in March.
Annually, job ads were down 5.1%, but have remained stable in a tight range of 114 to 117 since June 2024, according to latest ANZ-Indeed report.
Callam Pickering, Indeed senior economist, noted that spikes in job ads were recorded in the retail sector and for HR professionals.
"Job ads in retail rose further in April, boosted by Easter, with the industry one of the strongest performers this year," Pickering said in a statement. "Opportunities for HR professionals also jumped in April, perhaps a sign that employers plan to ramp up their hiring activity."
But offsetting these gains were job ad declines in education, as well as food preparation and service, according to Pickering.
By location, the senior economist noted that job ads growth was "mixed across regions."
"A large drop in New South Wales [was] offset by stronger results in the other mainland states, led by South Australia and Western Australia," he said. "Queensland though has been the biggest underperformer this year, following stellar growth last year."
Aaron Luk, ANZ economist, said their findings point to a resilient labour market, with unemployment also stable in the past year.
But Luk noted that the Reserve Bank of Australia will likely cut the cash rate in its May meeting despite the labour market due to an uncertain global backdrop.
"Global trade uncertainty is expected to impact domestic consumer and business sentiment. We now expect real GDP growth of two per cent over 2025, a downward revision from our previous forecast of 2.4%," Luk said in a statement.
"Lower economic activity will likely lead to less demand for labour, and the unemployment rate (quarterly average) is now expected to peak at 4.4% from 4.2% previously."
