'This stabilisation at a still-elevated level highlights the labour market's resilience'
ANZ-Indeed job ads across Australia extended their month-over-month (m/m) increase in January, according to a new report.
The ANZ-Indeed Job Ads revealed on Monday listings went up 1.7% m/m in January after an upward revision in December to 0.6%.
"ANZ-Indeed Job Ads has risen 2.3% over the past two months, following a steady decline over the previous 12 months," said ANZ economist Madeline Dunk in a statement.
Despite a 15.5% decrease from the November 2022 peak, the job ads are still 39.9% higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to the report.
"This stabilisation at a still-elevated level highlights the labour market's resilience," Dunk said.
Job ads by location, sector
Victoria led the increase in ANZ-Indeed Job Ads in January, compensating for the weakness recorded in New South Wales and Queensland, according to Indeed senior economist Callam Pickering.
"That said, the overall decline in postings over the past year remains concentrated in New South Wales and Victoria," Pickering said in a statement.
By sector, management and software development contributed the most to January's gain, according to Pickering.
"However, software development also made the biggest subtraction from annual growth, with January's increase ending 10 consecutive monthly declines. Overall, job ads in 86% of occupation groups are down over the year," he stated.
Unemployment rate to go up
Meanwhile, Dunk said their findings indicate that Australia's current 3.9% unemployment rate will go up.
"We expect the unemployment rate to rise modestly to 4.2% by the end of the year," Dunk said.
According to the economist, Australia's labour market is cooling, but they aren't expecting a significant downturn in job ads anytime soon.
"[National Australia Bank's] business survey showed 79.9% of businesses reported labour as a constraint on their output in Q4, and the unemployment rate remains historically low at 3.9%," Dunk said.
