Advertised Job Highlights

• Newspaper job ads averaged 8,123 per week, down from 17,000 12 months ago.
• Internet job ads averaged 128,334 per week, down from over 250,000 12 months ago.
• The total average number of job ads in May was 136,457, down from 268,000 a year ago.
• Job ad levels are now consistent with unemployment rising in the coming year.
• Job ads on the internet and in newspapers fell by just 0.2% in May compared with April. The annual fall is 49.1%.

Commenting on the figures, ANZ Head of Australian Economics Warren Hogan, said:

“Job advertising appears to have stabilised in recent months although the number of job ads recorded in newspapers and on the internet remain at recessionary levels.

“Overall, the weakest outcomes for job advertising by state are coming from the resource-rich states of Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia.

“Overall job advertising remains weak and is consistent with rising unemployment over the year ahead. ANZ expects unemployment to breach 6% in 2009 before eventually peaking at more than 8% in 2010.

“At this stage there a no signs of a recovery in job advertising and, as such, we remain cautious about the outlook for the labour market and economic growth over the second half of 2009.”

The drought stricken city is continuing to introduce tougher water restrictions (link opens pdf file) to improve on the water savings residents made last year.

People living in Melbourne may now only water their gardens on two days each week and the watering must be carried out between 6am and 8am.

Watering lawns using tap water is banned completely.

Only one quarter of sports grounds can be watered.

New swimming pools or spas may not be filled with water from the city’s drinking supply; you need to have a personal source of groundwater or collect rainwater.

Existing pools or spas of less than 2,000 litre capacity can be filled with drinking water, but you aren’t allowed to use a hose to fill them.

You need to carry the water from tap to pool using a bucket.

Although Melbourne added more people to its population than any other Australian city last year, the city’s residents managed to cut their total water consumption by 500 million litres. Consumption per person has dropped by 22% since the 1990s.

While Melbourne dries up, Sydney – itself no stranger to drought – is enjoying a time of more plentiful water supply. Sydney’s reservoirs are now 63 percent full, up from just 34 percent in early 2007. Sydneysiders are still living in the shadow of water restrictions, however, but less onerous than those being endured in Melbourne.

Sydneysiders are still entitled to water their lawns morning or evening two days each week. Only swimming pools of greater than 10,000 litre capacity have restrictions on filling; you need to obtain a permit from the city council to fill these with tap water.

Minor water restrictions were first introduced in Sydney in 2003 when dam levels dropped below 60 percent and were progressively toughened as water levels continued to drop. Provided dam levels remain above 60 percent, Sydneysiders may hope for further easing of restrictions.

Anyone who has driven in Sydney will be well aware that it can be a stressful experience. Yet Australia has often claimed to be a nation of ‘relaxed’ drivers.

So just who is doing all the tailgating, cutting in, horn blowing and finger gesturing seen daily on Australian roads? And not just in Sydney.

Australians were asked if they agreed with the statement: “I think I’m a good driver, but I like to stay calm on the road so I don’t feel the need to be aggressive.”

Levels of agreement varied from city to city.

Melbourne claimed the most calm drivers (51 percent) followed by Brisbane (48 percent), Perth (43 percent) and Sydney (39 percent).

At 31 percent Adelaide had the fewest calm drivers, according to Research International.

“It’s interesting to see that the cities you think might be more stressed like Melbourne and Sydney are saying they are less so than a smaller centre like Adelaide,” Research International’s Strategy Director, Jonathan Sinton said.

Revheads

Rev heads were identified by their agreement with the statement: “I like driving fast and taking challenges. I feel that I drive better than most others on the road.”

Interestingly, Adelaide claimed the largest proportion of rev heads (nine percent) followed by Melbourne (eight percent), Brisbane (five percent), Sydney (four percent) and sedate Perth at just two percent.

Roadhogs

“I feel competitive on the road and get easily frustrated with other people’s driving. Often I wish I had the road to myself!”.

Again, Adelaide polled the largest number of roadhogs (23 percent) followed by Melbourne (14 percent), Perth (12 percent), Brisbane (11 percent) and Sydney at 10 percent.

Convenience Drivers

“I drive because it’s a convenient way to get around, not because I enjoy driving. I don’t feel any connection with my car.”

Perth had the most ‘A to B’ drivers (22 percent) followed by Sydney (19 percent), Adelaide (16 percent), Brisbane (15 percent) and Melbourne (14 percent).

* Over 1000 people nationwide aged 18-60 took part in the survey.

Fifty-five percent of drivers in Australia say they have no intention of compromising their lifestyle and intend to continue driving their cars without limitation on their activities, according to a new survey into automobile use by Research International (RI).

“The high usage of cars seems incompatible with stated attitudes of Australians towards both price and the environment. People don’t want to give up their big cars. If they have 2.4 kids they aren’t going to sell the Prado to buy a Yaris for the sake of the environment,” said Research International Strategy Director, Jonathan Sinton. “What they do care about is the cost of petrol.”

Half of those surveyed said they now buy fuel when it is cheapest and nearly half say they are using fuel dockets from supermarkets Coles or Woolworths.

If they were available, Australia’s car owners say they would use bio-fuels and renewable alternatives (64 percent).

Some Australians are still deeply in love with their big cars and a two-thirds of Aussies say say the continual increase in fuel prices won’t make them consider buying a smaller car

Over 1000 people nationwide aged 18-60 took part in Research International’s online survey into automobile use.

“We all need to remember the combined dam levels are still at around 20 per cent and sadly there’s been little real benefit to the dams from the rain we’ve had,” said Queensland Water Commission spokesman Gerald Tooth.

“Even though we will see a slight rise in dam levels over the next few days focusing on Target 140 is more important now than ever before.

“With dam levels this low we are a long way from being out of the woods yet and we all need to remain focused on saving every drop.”

Mr Tooth said with many people hosting visitors over the holiday season they should take the opportunity to pass on their water saving habits to people from outside the region.

“If you have visitors over the holidays from outside South East Queensland, tell them about all of the little things you do to save water, like taking short showers,” Mr Tooth said.

“South East Queenslanders should be extremely proud of their performance in 2007 because water use has now averaged less than 140 litres per person per day for more than 7 months.

“The community’s effort over the last year has made us one of the most water efficient urban populations in the developed world.”

“We are asking everyone to keep up the good habits they have developed during the drought because, frankly, we can never go back to the water wasting ways of the past.”

In Melbourne, the temperature was 41.1 degrees centigrade just before 5pm, the city’s hottest day for more than a year. Electricity use peaked as the rising temperature forced householders to switch on the air-conditioning. The scorching end to 2007 will confirm it as the hottest year on record in Victoria.

Figures from the Bureau of Meteorology show the average temperature in 2007 was about one degree above the long-term average. It was a fifth of a degree warmer than the previous hottest year in 1988.

There were no significant fires in Victoria despite the hot, windy conditions but in many parts of the state the heat was barely tolerable.

In Warrnambool, beaches were crowded with people despite a “stifling wind”, said Matilda Wills from the Lady Bay Resort. She said it was the “hottest wind I’ve ever encountered”. In Mildura, it was so hot that an electronic sign measuring the temperature outside one of the Hudak’s Bakery stores had reset in the afternoon. “It means it has gone off the scale,” said owner Michael Hudak. To encourage customers, his bakery displayed the temperature inside and outside the store. Inside was a cool 22 degrees centigrade and outside it was well over 40 degrees centigrade .

At shopping centres crowds were greater than expected as people sought an air-conditioned escape from the heat.

Across Victoria, swimming pools were also a popular option.

Amid much fanfare, 471 people representing 35 nationalities became part of aviation history when they boarded Singapore Airlines flight SQ380 at Changi Airport.

Hailed as a revolution in air travel, the double-decker A380 ends the nearly 37-year reign of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet as the most spacious passenger plane.

It is as tall as a seven-storey building, measures 73 metres in length and has enough room on each of its wings to park 72 medium-sized cars.

It is capable of carrying 853 passengers in an all-economy configuration, compared with the 747′s 500.

Airbus claims its jet is the most fuel efficient and quietest passenger aircraft in the world.

Top accommodation in the jet are the suites, enclosed by sliding doors and fitted with a 58-centimetre flat-screen television and laptop connections.

Suite passengers on the inaugural flight were offered Dom Perignon Rose 1996, caviar and a menu including duck breast and fish noodles.

“While I’m pleased many South Australians are heeding the message to reduce their watering habits, this severe drought looks set to roll on through a very hot summer,” Mr Rann said.

“Much more needs to be done to save the little water we have allocated to us.”

“Adelaide Hills’ reservoirs are currently at 78 percent. The back-up supply is Hume and Dartmouth dams which are at 22 percent and 16 percent respectively.

Under the new enhanced Level Three water restrictions, sprinkler systems can be used on one day a week for three hours in the morning or evening – even numbered houses 5am to 8am and 8pm to 11pm on Saturday and the same hours for odd numbered properties on a Sunday.

Hand-held hoses fitted with trigger nozzle or drip-watering systems can only be used before 8am or after 8pm any day. Previously these could have been used at any time.

Sprinkler systems can only be used once a week between 8pm and 8am on sporting grounds.

“While these restrictions are much more onerous, we believe they are in sensible proportion to the drought conditions we face at present,” Mr Rann said.