Jobs Vacancies in Australia Stabilise

ANZ Bank has published its May review of job ads in Australia’s major newspapers and on the internet.

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.”