Job advertisements in Australia increased by 8.4% in February 2022 following a 0.3% drop in January.

Job ads were also 46.3% above the January 2020 levels. The total number of job ads stood at 228,170.

ANZ Senior Economist, Catherine Birch said, “ANZ job ads rebounded by 8.4% month-on-month in February as the Omicron wave continued to recede, alleviating disruptions to workers and businesses. In January’s labour force data, during Omicron, hours worked dropped sharply (-8.8% m/m) including due to sickness, but most employers held onto workers. There was even a modest net employment gain of 12,900.”

“The February increase reinforces the view we expressed last month that job ads hadn’t yet peaked, with labour demand continuing to grow and job-switching expected to rise,” Birch said.

Birch added, “With Australia’s international border reopening, the arrival of skilled migrants, students and backpackers will increase the supply of workers. But we don’t think this will prevent further labour market tightening or wage growth acceleration. New arrivals will also add to demand for goods and services (and consequently, demand for labour) in an already strong demand environment. As such, competition for labour is likely to remain elevated.”

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