The number of job ads in Australia rose by 4.3% in May when compared to the previous month according to the Australian Job Index by HR consultancy Hro2.

Hro2’s data is collected from up to 6,000 employer, recruiter and niche job board sites. Repeat advertisements on one site or across several sites are de-duplicated.

The permanent jobs market rose by 6.6% in May, establishing another new all-time record.

At the same time, the contingent jobs market remained steady, showing a slight increase of 0.1% in May compared to the previous month.

“Temporary, contract and casual job opportunities have levelled out but remain at an exceptionally strong level,” the index stated.

“If the early days of the pandemic raised concerns about the ‘precarious’ nature of contingent work (casual, temporary and contract employment) the market has certainly righted those issues,” the index stated. “We had seen a shifting balance (globally) towards flexible work. That has now reversed in Australia.”

Now that employers are faced with acute skills and talent shortages, they are preferring to lock talent in with offers of permanent employment. The power has shifted. It is a sellers’ market,” the index added.

Meanwhile, full time job opportunities rose by 4.6% and part-time by 0.8%.

By sector, healthcare job vacancies rose by 7.6%. On the other hand, the accommodation and food services sector fell 7.7%.

New South Wales saw a 6.5% increase in job vacancies with Victoria at 5.8%.