Job advertisements in Australia increased by 13.4% in February 2021 on a seasonally adjusted basis when compared to February 2020, according to data from ANZ Bank. This is the highest level since October 2018.

ANZ Bank’s data is based on information provided by the operators of Seek.com.au, and the Department of Education, Skills and Employment’s Australian JobSearch site (Jobsearch.gov.au).

Overall, in February 2021 there was a total of 174,010 job ads.

Month-on-month, ANZ Australian Job Ads rose 7.2% in February 2021.

ANZ Senior Economist, Catherine Birch, said, “ANZ Job Ads growth accelerated out of the summer holidays, despite five-day lockdowns in Western Australia and Victoria during February.”

“Job ads are now 13.4% above its pre-pandemic level, equivalent to an additional 20,500 jobs being advertised on average per month,” Birch continued. “The ongoing strength in ANZ Job Ads gives us confidence that we’ll see solid net employment gains continue over February and March at least and that the impact of the end of JobKeeper in March will be mitigated to some extent.

“But we are still in the dark as to how many businesses and workers remain on JobKeeper in the current quarter, and therefore the potential hit to the labour market and overall economy,” Birch continued.