Job ads in Australia are up from pre-pandemic levels despite a month-over-month dip in June, but workers remain reticent about applying for positions, job board Seek reported Tuesday.

For the month of June, job ads were up 23.7% when compared to June 2019. And they were up substantially, 91.6%, from June 2020 during the pandemic.

Seek reported June’s numbers point to a strong labor market despite a 1.3% month-over-month decline in job adverts in June compared to May. Seek Managing Director Kendra Banks noted that month-over-month comparisons in June are difficult because it’s the end of the financial year and typically a quieter month.

“Many businesses hold off advertising new roles until July, when budgets are handed down and priorities for the coming financial year are set,” Banks said.

Despite the strength in postings, job applications per ad remain subdued. Applications per job ad were down in 25 of the 28 industries monitored by Seek.

“For the first time since the height of the pandemic we have seen the number of applications per job ad increase by 6.1% month-on-month,” Banks said. “However, application numbers per job ad are still close to the lowest that they have been since 2012.”

Seek reports between 39 million and 42 million visits to its website per month, indicating Australians are still viewing ads. They just aren’t applying at the same rates they were pre-Covid.

“Since the pandemic began, the number of candidates who view a job ad on seek.com.au and then go on to apply for a role has fallen by 10%,” Banks said. “We know candidates are being more cautious about moving jobs, as our research shows that two in three say that job security has become more important to them during the pandemic. In addition, 40% remain concerned about their job security, and 31% have held back from changing jobs.”

Applications per job are down across all salary bands, but the sharpest declines are in the lower salary bands — particularly for jobs that pay less than AUD 70,000 per year in categories hit hard by Covid-19.