Human resources sector among industries to report slowdown
Almost all industries across Australia reported a decrease in job ads in September, indicating moderation in hiring activity across the country.
According to SEEK, job ads declined 1.8% in September, with the science and technology industry being the only sector to report a monthly increase (3.5%) in job ads.
"Job ads declined almost across the board in September, with Science & Technology roles (albeit a small industry) the only one to record increased demand for workers," said SEEK ANZ managing director Kendra Banks in a statement.
Banks, however, noted that despite the decrease, the number of job ads remained above pre-pandemic levels.
"This demonstrates how truly exceptional the boom era of 2022 was and what we are seeing now is a slow moderation of that extremely high demand," Banks said.
Decrease in jobs by industry, location
The engineering sector reported the highest monthly decline with eight per cent, followed by the banking and financial services sector with 6.5%. Other sectors that logged major decreases include:
- Consulting and Strategy (-6.4%)
- Marketing and Communications (-5.9%)
- Farming, Animals, and Conservation (-4.8%)
- Real Estate and Property (-4.1%)
- Legal (-4.1%)
- Accounting (-4%)
- Mining, Resources, and Energy (-4%)
The Human Resources and Recruitment industry also recorded a 1.8% decrease in job ads, according to SEEK data.
By location, Queensland led the overall decline in job ads across Australia. This is followed by:
- Victoria (-2.3%)
- Western Australia (-2.2%)
- New South Wales (-1.4$)
Only South Australia, Tasmania, and the Australian Capital Territory recorded a monthly increase in job ads.
Application rates 'levelling out'
Meanwhile, applications per job ads in Australia reported a 0.7% uptick in August.
Applications per job ads increased in Tasmania (6.2%), which the report attributed to a surge for Healthcare and Medical roles. Other locations that reported an increase include:
- Victoria (2.4%)
- New South Wales (1.7%)
- Australian Capital Territory (0.6%)
"Applications per job ad do continue to rise, but the rate has slowed, which may be an indication that application activity is levelling out after months of growth," Banks said.
